


Home Sweet Home

by St0rmy



Series: Linked Universe Townhouse AU [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: A legit story with heavy overtones of crack, Abduction, Blood and Injury, Body Horror, Choking, Coming clean about your past, Consensual Hugging, Drinking, Electrocution, Explosions, Falling/Heights, Found Family, Four is also kinda oblivious, Gun Violence, Home Invasion, Hurt/Comfort, Hyrule is exhausted, I promise a happy ending, Legend is surly, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Medical Procedures, Near Death Experiences, Needles, References to Depression, Saying you're proud of your eight delinquent sons when you're the most delinquent of them all, Saying you're sorry, Sky is asleep, Tasers, Time is a tired dad, Twilight is a Good Egg, Violence, Warriors is smug af, Wild is clueless, Wind is Not So Innocent, but also fluff, modern day AU, so much tooth-rotting fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:22:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 45,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24746758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/St0rmy/pseuds/St0rmy
Summary: Time enjoys the peaceful sanctity of his quiet home in a brooding townhouse in the city. When he invites his young relative Twilight to stay with him for a while, he is not prepared for the chaos that invites into his home - or dredges up from his past.a.k.a. What started as a ridiculous crackfic born on the LU Discord while I was trying to figure out how to write banter and shenanigans among the boys and is gradually becoming more and more dramatic.
Series: Linked Universe Townhouse AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2084700
Comments: 258
Kudos: 463





	1. Chapter 1

Mornings were his favorite time of day, when the city was at its calmest before the bustle of rush hour. Time’s routine was a simple pleasure: wake, warm shower, brush his teeth, dress in pressed slacks and a crisp white shirt, slide on his leather dress boots, listen to the heels click down the empty hallway toward the stairs. He’d have a black coffee for breakfast and a slow leaf through the newspaper, the ticking of the kitchen clock his only company. At exactly 9:20, he would rinse out his mug and set the paper in the recycling bin on his way out the door. 

Today, however, there was a minor adjustment to his morning schedule. 

The knock on the heavy wooden door came exactly two minutes earlier than Time had recommended. He undid the heavy lock, drawing open the door and smiling at the young man he found on his doorstep. Twilight’s jeans were ripped and his flannel shirt a bit wrinkled, but he was on time and his smile was earnest. 

“Good morning,” he greeted the older man. “It’s good to see you!”

“Likewise.” Time stepped aside to let him in, shutting the door promptly behind him. Twilight had to blink several times to adjust to the dim light in the hallway. The ceilings were much higher than he expected from outside and the decor was dark and brooding. Time motioned for him to follow up the stairs to the second floor. “I’ll show you your room so you can put your things down.”

“Thanks.” Twilight followed, feeling a fine sheen of dust on the bannister beneath his hand. He ducked his head as he looked up, finding a second staircase leading to a third floor he didn’t realize was there. 

“So, your first day in the city. Do you have a plan for where you’ll start looking for work?”

“Uh, yeah.” Twilight followed him down a long hallway lined with closed doors on either side. The last door on the right was ajar and that was where Time led him. The guestroom was slightly more cheerful than the rest of the house. Morning sun streamed in through two windows along the back wall, and a print depicting a rustic farmhouse hung over the bed. Twilight dropped his bag onto the floor near the foot of the bed, turning back to Time with a grateful smile. “I can’t thank you enough for letting me stay with you for a bit.”

“Nonsense, what is family for?” Time clapped a hand on his shoulder. With his other hand, he offered a pair of silver keys. “I hate to cut our little reunion short but I have to be off. Make yourself at home here, we have plenty of space.”

Left alone in his new room, Twilight sighed and rolled his shoulders. Being around Time always made him feel _tense_. He glanced around the dim room before reaching down to begin unpacking his bags. 

_Home sweet home, I guess_.

___

  
  


At exactly 5:15, Twilight heard Time’s keys in the front door lock. He stood at attention as the older man entered the kitchen, smiling in greeting. 

“Well,” Time greeted him, “It looks like you’ve been busy.”

The kitchen table was set with Time’s plain dishware and a heaping loaf of warm bread. Twilight portioned generous helpings of homemade chicken and dumplings into bowls and took his seat across from Time. The kitchen table was small and with two grown men sitting across from one another, their knees bumped as they tucked in. 

“Any luck in your job search today?”

“Oh, yeah!” Twilight beamed. “I stopped in a bunch of different places - coffee shops, florists, bookstores - but nobody was really looking for help. As it turns out, the co-op down the street is hurtin’ for help and they hired me on the spot.”

“Oh?” Time leveled him with an unreadable look. _You came all the way out to the city to work in a hipster grocery store?_

“Yeah! I start on Wednesday.”

“Well, best of luck.”

An awkward silence settled between them, punctuated by the clinking of their silverware in their bowls.

“How was your day?”

“Oh, just fine.”

And that was all Time would concede. 

They continued to eat in heavy silence, Time apparently unphased by the dearth of conversation while Twilight felt like he could crawl out of his own skin. When they were finished, Time rinsed their bowls in the sink and Twilight wiped down the table. The kitchen was somewhat strange to navigate, having a long marble counter in the center, and the pair tripped over one another more than once as they moved to clean up. 

“Well, that’s all the fun I can stand for one day,” Time said as he hung up the damp dish towel. Twilight squinted at the back of his head, unable to tell whether that was sarcasm or not. “I’ll be off to bed. Please make yourself comfortable, just mind the noise.” 

“Off to bed?” Twilight huffed a laugh, “It’s just after seven.”

Time turned when he stood in the kitchen doorway, an abrupt gesture that set Twilight on edge. Maybe it was the way he moved, quick and precise despite his bulky frame. Maybe it was the steady way he could level a glare with his one good eye. Maybe it was how Twilight - how none of their family, for that matter - could never tell when he was joking or when he was being serious. 

“Good night,” he spoke lowly, and then he was gone. 

Twilight sighed, plunking down heavily at the kitchen table and looking out the tiny window. Compared to the rolling pastures back home, this view left much to be desired. He felt out of place in many ways, and his surly new roommate wasn’t quite helping. 

___

  
  


Time’s morning routine was a simple pleasure: wake, shower, dress, slide on his expensive boots, heels echoing down the empty hallway toward the stairs. The city air was still and his ears were finely tuned to the silence of his brooding home. 

Finely tuned to the _interruption_ of that sacred silence. 

He heard voices coming from the kitchen, one he recognized and one he didn’t. As he rounded the corner he saw Twilight already sitting at the small table, coffee mug in hand, while his companion chatted away animatedly in the kitchen. The intruder wore a t-shirt with the sleeves torn off and his long hair in a messy ponytail. 

“--just a really _weird_ guy to live with, y’know? I swear, he doesn’t towel off after he showers. He walks down the hallway leaving this soaking wet trail like a slug--”

Twilight chuckled at the vivid description, not noticing Time until the older man stepped up next to him, eyes never leaving the stranger in his kitchen.  
  


“Hello.”

Twilight nearly jumped out of his skin at Time’s abrupt appearance. The man in the kitchen glanced up from the pan he was swirling over the stove. “Oh, hey, good morning! Twi was telling me all about you, it’s great to meet you!” He set the pan down on the stovetop with a clatter, approaching Time swiftly and extending a hand. 

Time quirked a brow, taking the proffered hand, seeing as anything less would be incredibly rude. 

“Most of my friends call me Wild Man, but you can just call me Wild.” His handshake was firm and enthusiastic and entirely too energetic for such an early hour. “Can I interest you in an omelette sir?”

“No, thank you.” 

Not one to be deterred, Wild returned to the stove and continued yammering on about his living situation. Time stiffly entered the kitchen, pouring himself a large mug of coffee, and took a seat across from Twilight, who had remained silent up until this point - despite knowing that silence was an admission of guilt. 

The look in Time’s eye was smoldering. “Where did he come from?” He somehow managed to both whisper and shout at the same time.

“Well, I was bored last night so I thought I’d go out and see what city nightlife is like. I met Wild out at a club and he sort of… followed me home?” Twilight winced, knowing how lame that sounded. “It seemed rude to not invite him in when we got here, and then he fell asleep on the couch, and when I woke up he was already in the kitchen!”

“Hey, do you have any chives?” Wild called, his head in the refrigerator. 

“No,” Time replied flatly. He leaned over the tiny breakfast table, causing Twilight to shrink back in his chair. “I know you’re not used to life in the city, but _please_ try your best to _not_ bring stray stoners into my home.” 

“He’s _not_ a stoner--”

They were cut off by Wild setting two plates onto the table, one in front of himself and the other in front of Twilight. The omelettes were piping hot and smelled mouth-watering, brimming with fresh mushrooms and peppers.

“Are you sure you don’t want one, sir?” Wild tried offering Time his own plate.

“I’m _fine_ .” Time glowered at Twilight as he opened the newspaper with a _snap_ , the physical barrier cutting him off from their conversation. Wild chatted on as though he didn’t notice. There were only two chairs set at the table and so he awkwardly sat on a bar stool that was several inches too tall, joking and laughing with Twilight who felt like he could shrink into nothingness.

At exactly 9:20, Time rinsed out his mug and made for the door, his newspaper forgotten on the kitchen table. 

___

  
  


Time’s morning routine was a simple pleasure: wake, shower, dress, boots, down the hallway, down the stairs. However, the sacred silence he savored in his home was no more.

Much to his chagrin, Twilight’s new friend had decided to make this his new home. 

For the _long-term_.

“He got kicked out of his apartment!” Twilight had pleaded with Time the night prior after pulling him out onto the back porch for a hushed argument. The older man stood firm, arms crossed over his broad chest and glare unimpressed. “We can’t just leave him to wander the streets.” 

“ _You_ can’t,” Time grumbled, “But _I_ certainly can.”

“You have _seven_ unused rooms in this house!” Twilight whisper-shouted, exasperated with Time’s stubbornness. “And they are quite literally collecting _dust_ on the second floor!”

“What did you tell me he does for a living? A DJ or something?”

Twilight rolled his eyes. “He is a _professional_ chef at a steakhouse uptown. DJing is his hobby. He has a real job, and he’ll be able to pay the rent, just like me.” 

“It isn’t about the money.” But by the way Time’s gaze darkened, Twilight knew that he was just annoyed that his first excuse to not offer lodging wouldn’t hold up. “It’s about responsibility for yourself.” 

“He has memory issues,” Twilight pleaded. “He just needs someone to remind him when to pay things like his rent and his bills. That’s an easy thing for me to do.”

Time pursed his lips, searching Twilight’s eyes and finding a reflection of his younger self. _Sweet country boy_. This city was going to eat him up. 

Silence ebbed on for centuries before Time turned away abruptly, not looking the younger man in the eye as he sighed, “He can have the second bedroom on the left.”

And that was how the first of them came to stay in his home, interrupting his blissful silence and constantly getting underfoot in the kitchen. Time did his best to ignore Wild as he poured his heavy mug of coffee and took his seat at the kitchen table alone. Twilight, unsure where they stood after last night’s argument, sat at the kitchen counter, chatting amicably with Wild. 

Halfway into his morning paper, Time was interrupted when Wild peeled back the top corner to grin down at him. “I know you weren’t hungry yesterday morning, sir,” he chirped, “But you’ll want to try some of this! It’s my breakfast specialty!”

Before he could argue, Wild had snatched the paper from Time’s hands and set a warm plate of French toast in front of him. Golden, spongy squares were drizzled with thick maple syrup, gently powdered with confectioner’s sugar, and adorned with a small handful of fresh berries. Time puzzled at the plate for a moment, certain he didn’t have either confectioner’s sugar or blueberries anywhere in the house, but before he could argue its scent softened the lines in his brow - warm and sweet like a country sunrise.

Twilight grinned as he watched the subtle shift in Time’s posture. 

_Gottem_.

At exactly 9:22, Time hurried out the door, dusting sugar from his slacks as he went.

___

Time’s morning routine was a simple pleasure: wake, shower. 

The setup of his townhouse was somewhat unconventional, as the master bedroom didn’t have an attached bath. He would groggily meander down the hallway each morning in the direction of his bathroom, fumbling with the buttons of his silk nightshirt as he walked. His private bath was an oasis of silence in the growing cacophony that was becoming his home. 

_Was_.

Time heard the sound of a hair dryer but, in his morning stupor, didn’t think anything of it at first. He pushed open the door of the bathroom and nearly stumbled into another tall blonde standing at the sink. One of Time’s plush white bath towels hung loosely over his narrow hips, and he looked vaguely inconvenienced by the startled homeowner barging in. That didn’t distract him from his own personal concert, though. 

“--tend to shove, I give in and you don’t give up, I’m not getting out of here this time--”

Shaken, Time stepped backward into the hallway, pulling his bed shirt closed over his chest. The stranger in the bathroom winked at him playfully before not-so-gently shutting the door in his face. 

“ **_TWILIGHT!!_ **” 

Time appeared in the kitchen doorway looking as menacing as he possibly could in striped pajamas. He was met with cheerful morning greetings from the boys in the kitchen.

“Oh snap, you’re up early today!” Wild had several more pans on the stovetop than usual and tended a tall pot that threatened to boil over. “Just a bit longer for breakfast! Today’s my special breakfast specialty!”

“Coffee will be ready in five.” Twilight stood at the counter, dressed in khakis and his new work smock, setting up the coffee machine. He chanced a glance at Time’s face and schooled his expression into neutrality. Time could at least tell that his menacing aura raised the younger man’s hackles. 

Time glanced from one busy young man to the other, quietly fuming as he struggled to determine what needed to be shouted first. A muffled sound drew his attention to the kitchen table where a brown-haired young man sat in the seat across from Time’s usual spot, slumped forward over the table, fast asleep. 

“ _Who_ is _that!?_ ” It seemed as good a place to start as any. 

“Oh, that’s Sky High!” Wild giggled like it was the funniest joke in the world. “But we all jus’ call him Sky.” 

Twilight’s facade cracked. His pained look was a handwritten apology.

Time fixed him with a glare that could melt steel. “Outside. Now.”

The porch door slammed behind them and Time stood with his arms folded tightly across his chest. “I told you to stop bringing home stoners!” 

“They _aren’t_ stoners!”

“‘Sky High’? Really??”

“It’s a stage name! He’s a DJ, too. At the same club Wild plays.”

“Oh? And do they work with the young man who was holding a private concert _in my bathroom_?”

“Th- That’s Warriors.” 

“And what’s _his_ deal??”

“I… don’t actually know, if I’m honest.” 

“Did they follow you home too?”

Twilight studiously avoided Time’s gaze.

“Listen, cowboy,” Time pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, feeling his right eye beginning to throb. “You come from a different part of the world. The culture is _different_ here. We don’t just open our door to every lost soul that wanders down the street.”

“They don’t have a place to go!”

“I am not running a halfway house for drifters and delinquents!” Twilight shrank beneath Time’s withering glare. “I want the three of them out of my house before I get home tonight, and if _they_ _aren’t_ then _you’ll_ be leaving, too!”

Twilight pursed his lips, his jaw flexing as he considered his next words carefully. Time gave him the space of a few seconds to get his argument out. When he didn’t, the older man declared, “This conversation is over.” 

As Time turned away from him, Twilight stamped his foot on the porch in frustration. “You were lost like them once too, y’know!” 

Time stopped dead in his tracks. Twilight saw the tension coil in his shoulders and knew he overstepped his bounds. _Well, in for a penny..._

“I know you weren’t always like this,” he continued, shoving down any sense of self-preservation he might have had. “You exude this cold persona of the self-made man who doesn’t owe anything to the world. But _I_ know that _you know_ that you wouldn’t have gotten here without help from others. Haven’t you heard of giving back?”

Heavy silence hung between them for several tense moments. Twilight could hear his pulse in his ears. Time didn’t turn back toward Twilight; in fact, he didn’t look him in the eye for the rest of the day. He turned the doorknob and was halfway back inside the house when he flatly replied, “No one stays on the third floor.” 

At 9:40, with a to-go mug of coffee in hand, Time was out the door.

___

Time’s morning routine was asunder: wake, check for half-naked strangers in his bathroom, lukewarm shower, brush his teeth, listen for people in the hallway, dress, shoes, down the stairs. 

He paused on the second floor landing as a sweet and musky scent tickled his nose. _Something potentially illicit_. Creeping as quietly as a grown man could, his nose led him down the hallway where he stopped at the second door on the right. He pressed his ear to the door and paused, listening. 

A beat of silence passed before he heard from the other side of the door, “You can come in.”

First shocked, then mildly annoyed, Time thrust open the bedroom door and blinked several times to adjust to the darkness. _Did he always have blackout curtains in here?_ The walls were lined with boxes and baskets, candles and incense precariously balanced on uneven cardboard surfaces. On an elaborate patterned rug in the center of the room sat a surly young man with a pink streak in his hair peeking out from beneath a gray knit cap. 

Time sighed. _This might as well happen._

“So what’s your story?”

“You don’t care.” Legend glared at him quietly, fiddling with a suspicious necklace in his hands. 

“Y’know what? You’re right.” Time shook his head, pulling the door closed. “Electric candles only, please. That’s a fire hazard.” 

“Whatever.” 

Time muttered a morning greeting as he entered the kitchen. Sky was slumped over the kitchen counter this time where someone had jokingly draped a placemat like a blanket over his shoulders. Twilight sat next to him, watching Time silently as he moved through the kitchen, not sure whether he wanted the older man’s attention or not. Wild was uncharacteristically focused as he cracked an egg perfectly into a pot of boiling water over the stove. Warriors, sharply dressed in chinos and a tasteful scarf, sat at the tiny table with his legs crossed, newspaper in hand. Time poured his coffee and made for his own seat at the table, snatching the paper from War’s hands as he passed, earning an affronted gasp from the younger man. 

“You know, every mean-spirited action you take can shave as much as 20 minutes off of your lifespan,” Warriors snipped at him, moving his cup of tea quickly as Time nearly set his own mug down on top of it. 

“Each new freeloader I find in my house takes 20 years off of my lifespan,” Time replied, although there was no venom in his tone. 

“Aw, you don’t mean that,” Wild piped up, practically bouncing over to the table. “Here, this should cheer you up: my extra special breakfast specialty!” He slid a plate of eggs benedict in front of Time, plump poached eggs nestled into beds of golden English muffins and tucked in with generous drizzles of Hollandaise sauce. 

Time set his paper aside willingly, accepting the napkin Wild offered and laying it across his lap. Wild considered it a victory. As he waltzed back into the kitchen with his back turned to the table, Wild winked at Twilight and mouthed a triumphant _yaaaaas_ as he passed, gently bumping fists with him. 

“I am beginning to sense a breakfast theme, here,” Time spoke without lifting his eye. 

The two young men blanched. The beat of silence between Time’s words and Wild’s forced laugh was just half a second too long. 

“What d’you mean, Old Man?” Twilight put his coffee mug to his lips immediately after speaking. He tried to be jovial, but his movements had become stiff and robotic.

“Well, each time I enjoy this wild young man’s exquisite cooking,” Time spoke between generous bites of his breakfast feast, “I find a new unexpected face in my house. And I think I’m picking up on a pattern.” Twilight thought he might shatter the mug in his hands. “The more decadent the breakfast, the more unwelcome guests I tend to find.” Time sat back, regarding his plate thoughtfully before dabbing his mouth with his napkin. “Isn’t that right?”

Warriors’s eyes flicked between Twilight and Time, hiding a wry smile behind his teacup.

Wild was suddenly engrossed in scrubbing a clean cutting board. 

Sky snorted and stirred, lifting his head only to turn away from the group, resting instead on the opposite cheek. 

Twilight stared directly into Time’s eye, taking the slowest sip of coffee one could possibly take.

“Does anyone have an extension cord?” 

The group turned to stare at the newcomer who appeared in the doorway. Four’s jeans were cuffed several times over scuffed work boots, and his blue shirt was smeared in places with grease. The bandana that held his long hair off of his forehead looked like it hadn’t been washed in months. 

“Like, a heavy duty extension cord, one with a grounding cable.”

Time slowly turned to Twilight again, eyebrows raised. _Isn’t that right?_

Twilight cleared his throat, surrendering with a small smile. “Well, he’s not staying on the third floor. He’s staying in the basement.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Wind and Hyrule enter the chat, Warriors goes for a walk, and Twilight gets to fill out harassment paperwork.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted this on mobile, if the formatting is odd I’ll fix it later. Have your update a day early!

Wind stood fidgeting on the stoop, staring up at Time’s intimidating brass knocker. When he was younger the thing always scared him, an ancient tree with a face carved into it that somehow conveyed both benevolence and suffering. He recited his story in his head again. _Financial aid didn’t come through. Got kicked out of the dorm. Only for the rest of the semester._ He shifted his backpack strap on his shoulder, waiting until he’d properly psyched himself up before reaching for the knocker. 

Before he could grasp it, the door swung open with a flourish. Wind shrunk back, expecting the surly homeowner to be behind the door, freakishly aware of his presence before he’d even knocked. Instead, a thinner, blonder, _prettier_ man stood blinking down at him. He was wearing Time’s monogrammed bathrobe.

Wind gaped. “The Old Man got a boyfriend?”  
  


“In his dreams.” Warriors leaned down to snatch the newspaper off of the stoop. “I’m a luxury few can afford.” 

Before Wind could reply, the door was slammed shut in his face. 

Twilight was heading down the stairs when the knock finally came at the door. “Got it!” he called, undoing the heavy lock and hefting the door open. When he found Wind standing there he stiffened, narrowing his eyes. 

“Oh _shit_ ,” Wind muttered. 

“No, no, no, no,” Time’s anxious crescendo preceded him as he jogged up behind Twilight in the hall, “Every time _you_ answer the door I inherit a new freeloader, and I’m running out of-- Oh.”

Twilight stepped aside as Time approached, holding the door open for him. Wind smiled up at Time, putting on his best last-puppy-at-the-animal-shelter face. “Good morning,” he spoke, a slight waver in his voice. “I-I should have called before I came over, you seem busy. I’m sorry.”

“Nonsense!” Time smiled warmly, setting his hand on Wind’s shoulder and ushering him inside. “Family is always welcome here.”

Twilight didn’t miss the way Wind side-eyed him as the pair walked past. 

Twilight followed them into the kitchen where Wild had a pile of bagels and a build-your-own station set up along the countertop. He grabbed a plate and took a seat next to Four, his ears straining to eavesdrop over the din in the kitchen. 

“Well that’s absurd.” Time set a freshly-toasted bagel in front of Wind, who sat in Time’s usual spot at the tiny kitchen table. Warriors sat across from him, engrossed in his newspaper, and so Time stood leaning against the wall with his coffee mug in hand. “I’ll call the school and set them straight.”

“No!” Wind replied a bit too forcefully, causing Time to quirk a brow. “N-No, I’ve already fought with Student Housing enough, I know there’s nothing I can do.” 

“Hm.” Time paused in thought, sipping his coffee while Wind busied himself spreading cream cheese onto his bagel. “Well, it’s a little crowded at the moment, but you are always welcome to stay here. It won’t be the best commute but we’re not too far from your university.” 

“Oh, well most of my classes this semester are online, anyway.” Wind set down his knife and turned to look up at the older man adoringly. Twilight could have gagged. “Are you sure? I don’t want to be too much trouble.” 

Time considered him for a moment, then scanned the kitchen. Wild was pouring maple syrup into the blender as he hummed to himself. Four was idly chewing his breakfast while leafing through a grease-stained vehicle manual. Legend was perched nervously on a kitchen stool, staring into one of the corners near the ceiling as though he could burn a hole through it. Sky was slumped halfway into the kitchen sink, his soft snores echoing off of the stainless steel. Twilight gingerly rinsed out a mug around him, pretending to not be paying attention. 

Time sighed. “What’s one more?”

___

At 9:20, after showing Wind to his room, Time was out the door. 

“Isn’t today Saturday?” Wild asked as he joined the other boys in the living room, setting down heavily on the couch next to Twilight. 

Twilight shifted to avoid spilling his mug of coffee on the upholstery. “Yep, all day.”

“So where’s the Old Man headed? Does he work Saturdays?”

“He must, judging by how he was dressed.” 

“Like he’s headed to a funeral,” Warriors muttered. He looked like he had been poured into the chaise lounge, still sporting his pilfered bathrobe. 

“What does he do for a living?” Four examined one of the heavy brass sconces that adorned the emerald-colored walls, the only one that hung slightly tilted with a dent in the base.

“I couldn’t tell you,” Twilight replied. “I’m not sure you could tell, but he’s not the most open about his life.”

“Well it must be something dangerous.” Warriors covered his right eye with his hand. “One doesn’t lose an eye working in a bookstore.”

“Woah, he lost his eye at work?” Wild set a pillow in his lap, idly fondling the tassels as they chatted. 

“No... Maybe?” Twilight frowned. “I don’t know, to be honest.” 

“How old was he when it happened?”

Twilight leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he thought. “I really don’t remember. I don’t even know how old he is _now_ . I remember that he didn’t have that scar when I was young.” Twilight could remember a time when he wasn’t surly and reticent and _weird_ , too.

“Hm.” Warriors eyed the mantle, which was adorned with an unsettling mask that looked more like a torture device: a cage for one’s face with hooks to hold the eyelids open. “There must be some interesting skeletons in these closets.” 

“There are.”

All eyes snapped up to where Legend seemed to materialize in the doorway, leaning against the frame with arms crossed. Was the hallway _always_ so dim in the daytime? Twilight felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. 

“The Old Man is haunted.” 

“For real?” Wild nudged closer to Twilight, hugging his pillow to his chest.

“Yes.” Legend slowly stepped into the living room, one arm tucked behind his back. “At night, he spends hours in agony and tells no one. He is haunted by the spectre of things that were and things that could have been.” Each of the boys leaned forward, captivated by Legend’s dramatics. He turned abruptly to the group, glaring at each one of them meaningfully. “He talks to it, tries to reason with it, but it just laughs at his weak attempts at reconciliation.” 

Silent seconds passed as the room held its breath. When sufficient tension had built, Legend procured the item behind his back, setting it on the coffee table in front of them. Four eager faces crowded in to get a good look. 

It was a photograph of a beautiful young woman, red hair caught up in a breeze, smiling and laughing as she tucked a lock behind her ear. 

Twilight released his held breath. _He should have known_. “Where did you get this?”

“His study.” 

“Woaaah, that’s off limits,” Wild spoke incredulously, shrinking back from the photograph as though it really _were_ haunted. 

“You were snooping?” Warriors leaned in even closer. “What else did you find?” 

Before Legend could answer, Twilight stood and snatched the frame from the coffee table, much to the others’ dismay. “He’d murder you if he found out,” Twilight hissed at Legend who sneered in return. 

“I thought you might want to know what was up his ass.” 

“Not at the expense of anyone’s life,” Twilight grumbled. 

“Wait!” Warriors called after him, “Who is she?”

But Twilight was already halfway up the stairs.

___

If setting foot on the third floor was trespassing, then sneaking into Time’s study was an absolute felony. Twilight crept down the hallway and nudged open the door with minimal noise, even though he knew Time wasn’t home. Mahogany bookshelves lined the wall opposite the door and the light that streamed in through the parted curtains caught flecks of dust as they danced in the air. A plush green couch adorned one end of the room; on the other sat an opulent writing desk. Twilight had never been in this room before, but he could only imagine that the photo in his hand belonged on the desk.

As he set the frame down, his eyes lingered for a moment on the happy memory. He missed Malon. He remembered seeing them sitting close together at a holiday party, watching Twilight and his cousins opening presents as they talked about having their own children. He remembered dancing with them at his aunt’s wedding, how light and _happy_ Time was. Malon seemed completely devoted to him, and he adored her just as much.

And then, Time showed up one holiday alone. He said very little to Twilight that day. 

The following year, sporting an eye patch, he said nothing to anyone. 

Then he stopped coming altogether. 

“Snooping?”

Twilight nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of the voice. As soon as he turned he heard the click of a camera, and his expression became stony. “Why are _you_ here?”

“I was just heading back to my room and thought I smelled body glitter.” Wind stood leaning against the door frame, grinning antagonistically as he pocketed his phone. “Turns out I was right.”

Twilight quirked a brow. “He’s letting you stay on the third floor?”

“Yup.” Wind crossed the room to examine the bookshelf, thumbing the leather spines of some well-loved volumes. “Guess he likes me more than you and your clan of rejects downstairs.” 

Twilight’s jaw worked as he watched Wind pull out one of the books, dangling it by the front cover and letting the pages fan, shaking it to see if something would fall out. “You know that’s not what I meant. Why are you _here_?”

“I got kicked out of school.” Wind said it as casually as he would comment on the weather.

“For what?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Twilight folded his arms over his chest, channeling his best Time as he pinned Wind with a glare. “Why here, of all places?”

“I figured the Old Man was alone here, collecting dust all by himself. I thought he could use the company.”

“Oh, _please_.”

“Well, that and he _has_ to have a bunch of money lying around here somewhere. I could use some startup capital for my podcast.”

Wind set the book back on the shelf and yanked out another. Before he could examine it, Twilight snatched the book out of his hand, setting it back on the shelf and taking him roughly by the shoulder. “Enough, you shouldn’t be in here.”

“Neither should you.” Wind jerked his shoulder out of Twilight’s grip, scowling up at him. “Don’t fucking touch me.”

“ _Out_.” Twilight ushered him out the door, turning back to make sure nothing else was out of place before he pulled the door closed. 

Malon’s smiling eyes followed him as he left. 

___

  
  


There was nothing routine about Time’s morning anymore: wake, wait for Wind to finish brushing his teeth, lukewarm shower, check for strangers before leaving the bathroom, dress, shoes, down the hallway, down the first set of stairs, single lap of the second floor to check for any new tenants. 

There hadn’t been any new faces for a few days, not since he’d passed an exhausted-looking young man in the hallway wearing wrinkled scrubs stained with an alarming amount of blood. Twilight had assured him that Hyrule was in fact a med student and not a murderer, and he swore this would be the last straggler he brought into the house. Time had to wonder if that was out of respect for his wishes or because they were quite literally out of room.

Time was consistently surprised at how clean the boys were keeping their quarters. The rug was vacuumed, the wainscoting dusted, the curtains at the end of the hallway drawn open to let in cheerful morning light. The hallway even _smelled_ pleasant, like fresh linens and an early summer breeze, and--

Something was burning.

It was a faint smell but unmistakable. Time jogged down the stairs, poking his head into the kitchen to confirm that Wild wasn’t abusing his appliances before following the scent around the first floor. As he pulled open the basement door he was smacked in the face with a strong whiff of _something_ that made him cough. He hurried down the basement steps. 

As Time turned toward the source of the offending odor the flash of an acetylene torch momentarily blinded him. “Woah, woah, hey!” He squinted, shielding his face from the light and heat.

Four turned off the torch, pushing his face shield back to reveal a dead-eyed stare. “What? It’s not toxic.”

Time stalked over to a door across the room and threw it open, smacking a button on the side of the wall as he did. The townhouse was unconventional for multiple reasons, one of which being the small garage that took up a portion of the basement. It opened to the backyard where a short strip of cracked blacktop ran from the foundation up to the alley beyond the fence. 

Time gestured to the garage as the door slowly creaked open on rusted rails. “If you’re going to be generating cancerous fumes, may I suggest doing so with proper ventilation?”

“Uh, sure.” Four meandered into the garage to take a look around. Just like the rest of the basement, it looked as though it had been untouched for years. Moldy boxes and suspicious locked chests cluttered the corners, and dusty relics of the adventures of a much younger man were hung on the walls. The garage could have kept one, maybe two vehicles, but it was empty save a tarped machine near the back wall. 

Four could tell by the silhouette that it was a motorcycle. He glanced questioningly at the older man standing in the doorway, but Time waved for him to continue. The machine beneath the tarp was a rarity, not so old as to be antique but not a recent model, either. The shocks were after-market and made to withstand much rougher terrain than city streets would ever demand. The seat was only large enough for one, and it was rare to see brown leather tooled with such intricacy. Over the tank in hand-painted script was what must have been her name: _Epona_.

“This bike is gorgeous. Is she yours?”

“Yes, but I can’t take credit for it.” Time’s gaze softened. “It was a gift. It doesn’t run, though.”

“Hm.” Four crouched down to take a look at the engine. “Do you want her to?”

___

  
  


Working at the co-op was somehow both overwhelming and monotonous. Back home, Twilight was used to sprawling grocery stores with modest crowds and familiar faces around every corner. At the co-op there was an endless stream of customers and he never saw the same person more than once. Familiar faces were rare, and Twilight used to think that was a bad thing. 

“Have a great day!” Twilight turned from his last customer to the next in line, stopping short and dropping his customer service smile when he saw Warriors regarding him coolly over the rim of brightly-colored sunglasses. They stood out in stark contrast to the rest of his grey and black outfit. 

Twilight blinked. “What on earth are you doing here?” 

“I’m on a mission.” Warriors glanced around furtively before leaning in close. “Do you really not know what the Old Man does all day?” 

“War, wha-”

“He does _nothing_ .” Warriors grabbed a magazine off of the rack over the conveyor belt and pretended to flip through. “He leaves the house before 9:30 every morning, except Sundays, and he walks around the city following the same routine but doing _absolutely nothing_.” 

“Um, excuse me?” a shrill voice behind Warriors interrupted him. He turned to the middle-aged woman in line behind him. “Sir, are you buying anything or just holding up the line?”

Without breaking eye contact with the woman, Warriors reached into the rack of candies on the opposite side of the aisle and blindly grabbed a handful of chocolate bars. The woman jumped as he slammed them on the belt. He turned slowly back to Twilight, rolling his eyes at the interruption. 

“Um, War,” Twilight reached for the pile, scanning them slightly more slowly than he normally would, “How do you know what he does all day?”

“Because I’m following him.” 

Twilight dropped one of the bars on the floor. “ _War!!_ ”

“He’s over there right now,” Warriors continued in hushed tones, inclining his head toward the cafe across the street, “Sitting in a corner by himself, reading a magazine, and nursing an Americano. Before that, he strolled through the park from one end to the other, _twice_ , tipping every street performer he passed. Before _that_ , he helped an old lady cross the street - so generic, I know - and before _that_ , he--”

“Wait,” Twilight stepped back to retrieve the dropped candy bar, struggling to sort his outrage from his confusion. “But today’s Tuesday. You mean he didn’t go in to work?”

“Where does he work, Twi?”

Twilight paused, slowly setting the last chocolate bar into the plastic bag he was packing. “I don’t know. I figured he worked in some sort of office, with how he dresses every day.”

The sound of someone loudly clearing their throat drew the boys’ attention back to the woman in line behind Warriors. She glanced meaningfully at the credit card machine. _Hurry up and pay_.

Warriors narrowed his eyes at her, reaching into his coat. “You’ll have to excuse me, young man,” he spoke too loudly as he procured a reusable shopping bag from inside his coat. “But I find single-use plastic _abhorrent_. Do you mind?”

Twilight stiffly took the bag, setting it up on the counter and moving each piece of candy individually as he went on. “Look, we all know he’s weird, but that’s not an excuse to be invading the man’s privacy. You have to let it go.” 

Warriors glanced at Twilight shrewdly, the corner of his mouth turning upward. Twilight suddenly felt like he was caught in a trap. “Okay, fine. Then tell me who the woman in the photograph is.”

Twilight’s pause was nearly imperceptible, but Warriors immediately knew that he’d zeroed in on something _far_ more interesting than chasing down what Time did for a living. Twilight finished packing the bag and turned back to Warriors silently, pursing his lips. _This isn’t fair and you know it._

“Pardon me,” the woman in line started again, “But I--”

“So sorry, _Karen_ ,” Warriors snapped as he wheeled on the woman, “But I’m going to need a price check.” Warriors leaned across the conveyor belt and snapped on the blinking light over Twilight’s register. 

Twilight groaned. “War, you can’t do this--”

“Ohh you bet I can.” He turned back to Twilight with a cheshire grin, and Twilight knew that not only did Warriors not give a shit about how much trouble he would get Twilight in, he was enjoying it. “What time are you supposed to be done here? Because I can do this all afternoon.”

Twilight glanced between Warriors and the growing line of irate customers behind him. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Twilight, how can I help you?” Both boys turned toward the young shift manager who had stepped up beside him, regarding Warriors carefully. 

“It’s… It’s nothing, Ilia.” Twilight glared at Warriors as he switched off the light. “Just a bit of confusion over what this gentleman needed. I think I helped him figure it out, though.” 

“Oh, okay!” 

Warriors slowly slid his credit card out of his wallet as Twilight punched something into the register. “She’s his ex-wife. Her name is Malon.”

“Why ‘ex’?”

“Because they got divorced?”

Warriors gave him a sour look, inserting his card into the reader. “Did she cheat on him? Or vice versa?”

“I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I _highly_ doubt it.”

“Where is she now?”

“Still lives in the city, not sure where.”

“Do they keep in touch?” 

“Not that I can tell.”

“Was the separation… amicable?”

The register beeped. “Uh, your card was declined.”

“Wow, really? What’s the total?”

“Twelve rupees.”

Warriors frowned, sliding the card back into his wallet. As he did, he glanced outside and cursed under his breath. Twilight followed his gaze to where Time was swiftly exiting the cafe. “Well thanks for the tip, Twilight, but I gotta go.” 

“Hey, don’t you--!”

But Warriors was already halfway out the door, leaving Twilight with an angry queue of shoppers and a sinking feeling in his chest.

___

  
  


Twilight got home a bit late from work and dinner was mostly decimated when he arrived. He was able to scrounge together a decent serving of roast chicken and broccoli, scraping the last of the mashed potatoes out of the pot. Not wanting to eat in the kitchen alone, he took his plate down the hallway toward the back porch, but sharp whispers in the living room caused him to slow.

“--think it would be easier to just do it here.”

“No, too many places for him to hide in his own home.” Legend sounded pensive. “Wild, what about your restaurant?”

“I mean, sure. We’d just have to make reservations but, like, today. Weekends get pretty slammed.”

“A busy restaurant might be great, actually. It puts on the added pressure of social decorum, so maybe he won’t try to take off as soon as he sees her.”

“We would need an inside man, though,” Four’s voice came from much closer to the doorway, causing Twilight to tense, “And not just in the kitchen. We need someone to make sure the Old Man actually makes it to the table and _stays there_ , even once he realizes what’s going on.” 

Silence permeated the air before Warriors made an offended scoff. “I know I’m fabulous, but you don’t all need to stare at once.” 

“Yeah, fabulously unemployed.” Twilight could hear Legend’s smirk. “But we may need more than one person--”

As Twilight appeared in the doorway, the conversation immediately died. “Hey guys,” he tried casually. 

It was as though he hadn’t said anything at all. Warriors sat back in the chaise lounge, idly flipping through his phone. Sky slouched over one of the arms of the couch, muttering into the crook of his elbow as he slept. Seated next to him, Wild fidgeted with the frayed hem of his jeans, looking everywhere except at Twilight. Four balanced on an ottoman, mounting the brass sconce he had repaired earlier in the day. Only Legend met Twilight’s gaze, his expression unreadable.

“Y’know,” Twilight leaned against the door frame, shoving a forkful of potatoes into his mouth, “If you’re trying to be sneaky about something, y’all need to work on not being so obvious about it. Well, except Sky maybe.”

The accusation was met with silence. Twilight continued eating, waiting for one of them to crack. Wild made the mistake of making eye contact, and Twilight could tell by the way he scrunched his shoulders that he would be the easiest to break. 

“Wild, is there something you’d like to share?”

“Don’t!” Legend interrupted just as Wild opened his mouth. A pillow came sailing across the living room from Warriors’s direction, smacking Wild in the head. Wild looked at Twilight helplessly, his eyes pleading. 

“We’re going to set the Old Man up on a date with his ex.”

Four’s co-conspirators turned on him in outrage, but he waved off their vocal reprimand coolly. “What, you really think we’ll be able to pull this off _without_ his help? Twilight is the only other person in the house who knows anything about Malon, unless you want to ask that freaky kid upstairs.”

“Not it.” Warriors visibly shuddered.

“Wait,” Twilight set his fork down, looking at the group quizzically. “Why on earth would you guys try to set him up like this? What did he ever do to you?”

Wild shrugged. “He wasn’t mad when I forgot the rent last month.”

“He doesn’t _pretend_ to care.” Legend sat down heavily in the only empty armchair. “I like that.”

“He has impeccable taste in furniture and linens.” Warriors fondly stroked the plush upholstery of his favorite chair. 

“He didn’t ask me to stop welding in the basement.” Four didn’t look away from the screw he was threading into the drywall. “He just gave me a safer place to do it.”

“We just want to thank him.” Wild’s voice was small. 

“And you’re certain that this is a good idea because…”

The boys shared side-eyed glances, but Legend huffed, rolling his eyes. “Well, we let him in this far.” He pulled some papers out of a deep pocket in his cardigan, unfolding them gently and passing them over to Twilight. It was the wrinkled draft of a letter that must have come from a waste bin somewhere in the house. The words were written in Time’s pointed scrawl.

_...It’s been too long since I’ve seen you, and I think about you_ ~~_all the time_ _often_ _whenever the lilacs you planted begin t_~~ _... (Too desperate.)_

_...The house feels empty without your laughter..._

_...I take back all the hurtful things I said, I regret them every day of my life. I wish I could make you understand why I_ ~~_am like this_~~ _have to be this way..._

_...Maybe someday I’ll stop being a coward and tell you everything...._

Twilight was speechless. He looked at each of them in turn, finding honesty in their eyes. _They really thought this was a good idea._

“Well?” Legend sat back, gesturing for Twilight to enter the room. “We’re doing this with or without you.”

A beat of silence passed. 

“Let me think on it.”

Twilight shuffled back into the kitchen, sitting at the tiny table and pushing his food around on his plate. He could tell the boys’ hearts were in the right place. They all saw how lonely Time was and wanted to do something for him that would cheer him up. _Or something they assumed would cheer him up_. Yes, Time had been happy when he was with Malon, but how would he feel to see her now after all these years? 

Even if Twilight refused to be a part of it, the others would move forward with the plan. Should Twilight really let Time stumble blindly into this trap?

_What if seeing her again would be painful for him?_

Twilight grimaced down at his cold chicken. 

___

  
  


Every creak of the stairs up to the third floor ratcheted Twilight’s anxiety higher and higher. He could hear soft sounds from Wind’s room - some video game or something. The light of Time’s study illuminated a sliver of carpet just beneath the door. Every nerve ending was screaming at Twilight to _run_. His soft knock echoed like gunshots in the quiet hallway. 

“Yes?”

Twilight held his breath as the door creaked open. Time sat at his elaborate writing desk with his back to the door. _So old-fashioned_. Twilight half expected him to be writing with a quill. 

His ears also picked up some soft music. _Was this Wild’s lo-fi mix?_

“I know why you’re here.” 

Twilight stopped in his tracks. His palms were wet.

“I know you don’t like the situation, and I’m sure your friends don’t either, but you really need to let it go.” 

Twilight sighed, shutting his eyes tightly. “I’m just-- We’re all just trying to look out for you.” 

“I’ve made my decision, and that’s final. What’s done is done.” Time turned in his chair, regarding Twilight coolly. 

“I know that, but the guys… They care about you, y’know. They don’t-... They just want you to be--” 

“Twilight, do you think I’m a moron?”

“Of course not!” The question struck him as odd.

Time stood, crossing his study in three long strides to close the door before holding out a small stack of open envelopes. Baffled, Twilight leafed through them: well-meaning letters of concern from the office of academic integrity at Wind’s university, notices from a truant officer, a letter of expulsion signed by the provost. His eyes snapped up to meet Time’s gaze. 

They weren’t even on different pages; Time and Twilight were in different books completely. 

“I knew Wind was expelled from his university last week. He doesn’t want to go home because he couldn’t bear to tell his grandmother.” Time spoke in hushed tones, folding his arms smugly as he leaned against the door. “I wasn’t going to get involved, originally. But you were right the other night, you know. I wasn’t always like this. In fact, in my younger days, I was a lot like him.”

“Wait.” Twilight shut his eyes tightly and shook his head as he struggled to catch up. “Then… you know he’s not the family’s golden boy. Why do you play into his act?”

“Because I know that my disapproval alone wouldn’t be enough to keep him in line.” Time accepted the letters back from Twilight and returned to his desk. “But if he’s working to keep up the ruse of being a perfect child in order to pull one over on me, _that’s_ a much stronger motivator for him to stay out of major trouble.” 

Twilight was rendered mute in his confusion. Time reorganized the stack and set them back in a locked compartment in his desk. Twilight noticed that the photograph of Malon was nowhere to be found. 

“I thought you, of all people, wouldn’t give me pushback about this. He’s just another lost soul, isn’t he?” Time turned back to Twilight wearing a rare, honest smile. “Haven’t you ever heard of giving back?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Twilight is the ultimate Ride Or Die, the boys get part-time jobs, and Time threatens murder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW's: (Light, social) drinking, language, allusions to violence.

Sundays were the one day during the week that Time permitted himself some rest. He woke up at a leisurely 8:30, dressed in a polo shirt rather than an oxford, and spent much more quality time with his coffee in the kitchen. Sundays were also a blessing because Wild worked late on Saturday nights, meaning the kitchen was closed for breakfast. From behind his newspaper, Time would watch the various vagrants that had invaded his home wander in and out, peering sleepily into the refrigerator or helping themselves to some coffee.

It was 9:15 when the creak of the front door announced Hyrule’s entrance. He shuffled into the kitchen, setting his backpack near the door and marching directly over to Time. “Hyrule,” he muttered, offering his hand by way of introduction. His scrubs were wrinkled - but thankfully unstained - and his socks were mismatched. Regardless, his handshake was firm and confident. 

“Good to meet you. Twilight tells me you’re a med student. Working the overnight shift?”

Hyrule chuckled without humor. “Sure.”

He walked into the kitchen like a zombie, pouring a mug of black coffee to the brim and grabbing a banana from the counter. He had drained half of his mug by the time he made it back to the kitchen door, nearly colliding with Wild on his way out. 

“Oh, sorry man, welcome home!” 

Hyrule merely grunted on his way up the stairs. 

“You’re up early this morning,” Time greeted Wild.

“Good morning, sir!” Wild made his way into the kitchen without looking at Time. “Yeah, Twilight and I have some errands to run this morning.” He pulled a carton from the fridge and grabbed a box of cereal from the cabinet, settling down at the seat farthest from Time at the counter. 

“Oh?” Time turned a page. “Where are you two headed?”

“To the, uh, library.”

Time shifted his newspaper down to look at Wild directly, his expression unreadable. “Is that so?”

“Yep.” 

“On a Sunday.”

Time kept his gaze even, not so much as blinking as Wild poured orange juice into his bowl full of cereal. 

“Good morning!” Twilight chirped a bit too loudly as he entered the kitchen. Wild imperceptibly relaxed as the weight of Time’s gaze was lifted from him. 

“Good morning, Twilight.” Time set down his newspaper, smiling with amusement at the younger man as Twilight poured himself a coffee. “Looks like everyone is up early today. What’s on your agenda?”

“Oh, just have some errands to run this morning.” Twilight returned his smile as he moved to refill Time’s coffee mug, maintaining eye contact.

“Where are you headed?” 

“Oh y’know, just getting to know the city a little better, maybe get myself a new pair of sneakers, grab some lunch.” 

“Lib-ary,” Wild helpfully offered around a mouthful of cereal. 

“Yep, and that.” Twilight pulled up next to Wild at the counter, pouring himself a bowl of the same cereal and adding a splash of orange juice without hesitation. Time quirked a brow as both boys tucked into their breakfasts with determination. As they chatted among themselves amicably, Time gradually lost interest, picking up the next section of his paper.

Hyrule reentered the kitchen, depositing his banana peel in the trash and emptying the rest of the coffee pot into a to-go mug. His hair was damp and his scrubs were fresh. As he reached for his bag, Time stood to brew a new pot. “Where are you headed so soon?”

“Back to the hospital.”

“Didn’t you just come from there?”

Hyrule stopped, drawing a long sip of coffee from his mug, watching Time with a red-rimmed stare. 

The older man continued, “Aren’t you going to get some sleep?”

“Yes, in eleven months.”

And he was out the door again. 

___

  
  


Twilight and Wild both grimaced as they descended the front porch steps, breakfasts sloshing heavily in their stomachs. 

“I’m sorry, man! He started asking me questions and I freaked out, I had no idea what I was doing!”

“You didn’t let anything slip, did you?”

“Not this time.” Wild huffed, nervously fixing his ponytail. “Least I don’t think so.”

Twilight pulled out his phone, looking up the address Legend had given him. It would be a twenty minute walk, but the weather was pleasant and Wild was chatty as ever. They wound through city streets, weaving in and out of the crowds, passing busy storefronts and markets. Twilight was getting more used to city life, but he still was amazed by the sheer number of people he could pass in a day, not seeing the same person twice. City dwellers were also a bit more fashion-forward than he was used to. It wasn’t unusual to see people walking around in sequined skirts, or frighteningly inappropriate footwear, or red and white masks, or neon fishnets. Gorons and Gerudo sat having brunch at open air cafes. Zora haggled over fresh produce at corner stands. Despite the fact that they could fly, Rito shuffled slowly along on the sidewalk with everyone else.

“--called The Lunar Cycle, it’s a three-day EDM festival that usually hosts a bunch of famous DJs, but Sky and I are going to try for a spot because why not, y’know? I just need to come up with a good set list and-- Hey, what gives?”

Twilight had stopped at a corner to check his phone again. “Sorry, just making sure we’re on the right track.” Sure enough, the path was leading them directly through a park. As they meandered along paved walking trails they passed more than one street performer. _Just like Warriors said_. 

Twilight couldn’t help but smile. Maybe Time’s daily routine wasn’t so full of nothingness after all.

“Do you think she’ll recognize you?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight admitted, anxiously thumbing the edge of his phone case in his pocket. “It’s been _years_ since I’ve seen her, and I was just a kid.”

“Are you nervous?” Twilight passed Wild an apprehensive look, to which Wild smiled in response. “Don’t be! I think she’ll be super happy to see you!”

“Yeah,” Twilight sighed, “I’m not entirely sure.”

“Well, we’re all stoked you agreed to help us with this.” Wild enthusiastically bounced along next to Twilight. “We were all pretty sure you thought it was a terrible idea. War was even convinced you’d try to tell the Old Man. What made you change your mind?”

Twilight pursed his lips. His attempt to warn Time had gone so awry that night that he hadn’t gotten the chance to bring up the boys’ plot. _And, well, if you can’t beat ‘em…_ “Knowing you were going to go through with it one way or the other, I didn’t really have a choice, did I? The least I can do is make some attempt at damage control.”

The apartment building was nondescript, the glass front door leading into a modest vestibule with a second locked door at the opposite end. There was an intercom through which one would call the party they were visiting. Twilight hesitated as he went to punch in the unit number. 

Wild laid a hand on his arm. “This might be better in person,” he whispered, inclining his head to where another resident of the apartment building was entering. The boys waited for the locked door to be opened for them and meandered around until they found the elevator. It was a quick ride up to the eleventh floor. 

Standing in front of unit 1134, Twilight suddenly felt short of breath. _Why was he so nervous about this?_ He felt his feet going numb as he stood frozen. His mind raced at hundreds of miles per hour through every scenario of how this could go terribly wrong. 

Twilight jumped at the sound of Wild knocking at the door. Wild turned to him with an encouraging smile. “It’s gonna be fine!” he whispered. 

They heard footsteps on a hardwood floor, heard someone pause behind the door as they peered through the peephole, then several locks were quickly undone before the door was thrust open. 

“Twilight!! Is that really you!?”

“Y-Yeah,” he smiled shyly beneath Malon’s wide-eyed stare. “Hello Malon, it’s really nice to see--”

Twilight didn’t get the chance to finish as he was swept up in a crushing embrace. “Oh darlin’, what a nice surprise! Look how big you got!!” Not big enough to prevent her from nearly lifting him off of his feet. “And-- oh, you brought a friend!”

“Hi Miss Malon,” Wild offered his hand, “My friends call me Wild Man, but you can call me--”

Wild wouldn’t be spared her affections, either. He blushed furiously as he sank into Malon’s embrace. His panicked eyes met Twilight’s, who shrugged in response. 

“Come in, boys, come in!” She ushered them into her apartment. “What on earth brings you all the way out here?”

“We were just passing through and I heard you lived nearby.” Twilight followed Malon into the living room. Her apartment was bright and airy compared to the townhouse. Warm sunlight bounced off of white walls and light wood flooring. Plants stretched upward toward sunshine streaming in through wide open windows, and her furniture was all bright colors and bold patterns. It stood out in stark contrast to the cardboard boxes lining the walls of the living room. Twilight faltered as he noticed them. “Oh. Are you… moving?”

“Yeah, in two weeks.” She motioned for them to sit on the couch. “Sorry for the mess, I got a head start on packing this week. Can I get you boys something to drink?”

“No thanks.” Twilight and Wild exchanged a glance. _So there is a time limit._

Malon took a seat across from them on a stout ottoman. “So tell me! How have things been?”

“Uh, just fine.” Twilight sat on the edge of the couch, hands clasped by his knees, sitting straight as a tack. “I actually moved to the city a few weeks ago to find some work. Things back home were, well, getting dull. I needed a change of scenery.”

“You and me both,” Malon chuckled as she leaned back on her seat, “Just at different points of our journey I guess.” 

“I guess so. Moving to a bigger apartment, or...?”

“Back out toward home.” She turned her gaze toward the floor. “I moved to the city with Link for his job so many years ago. After things... changed, I ended up staying because I had some friends here, had put down some roots. But now,” she shrugged, “I just want to go back home. Sometimes you need to start over from scratch.”

That sinking feeling in Twilight’s chest was getting worse. 

“I get that.” Wild was slouched back on the couch, ankle crossed over opposite knee, as comfortable as he could be. “Last week I was working on a deep house mix, Sky has been on me to make one, but it’s just not really my jam, y’know?” He clasped his hands behind his head, eyes on the ceiling. “I mean, deep house originated in the eighties, and jazz-funk soul fusion is cool and all, but it’s just not really _me_ , y’know?”

Twilight cleared his throat, drawing Wild’s gaze. _What the fuck, dude?_

“I’m more of a dubstep aficionado,” Wild continued, undeterred, “Really anything nineties and later. I mean, if we’re talking four-on-the-floor just basic _house_ , then okay. But deep house is a little out of my comfort zone.” 

Twilight passed Malon an apologetic look, but she was just smiling politely. 

“So I was just really ready to quit on this mix, just start over again from scratch. I was six hours in with only forty-seven minutes of track to show for it and I was getting really frustrated. But then I realized, I could either throw out the entire track and put, like, six hours worth of work in the garbage,” he met Malon’s gaze with a smile, “Or I could try it again, maybe add in a few different samples. I put so much time into it, it felt like a waste to throw it all away.” 

Malon tilted her head slightly. “Young man, I’m not sure I completely understand what you’re getting at.” 

But Twilight did. He rushed to step in. “Uhh yeah, or I mean-- it’s kind of like the house we’re staying in.” His palms were wet again. “It’s fixed up real nice and all, but unless you work on keeping it clean, it’s going to get dusty and stale--”

“...And kind of spooky…”

“--And, I mean, you could buy a new house and try again,” he started to falter under her knowing gaze, “But with a little hard work and a little love, maybe the old house could... clean up just fine?”

Malon narrowed her eyes and both boys shrunk under her shrewd glare. “Oh trust me, I’ve done _a lot_ of work to keep things neat and tidy, but working on something so big all by yourself gets tiresome after a few years, _especially_ when the person living with you isn’t making any effort to help.” 

Twilight felt like he’d boxed himself into a corner. 

“Well, maybe you just need to hire a housekeeper?” Twilight shot Wild a look. _Did he really get lost in the conversation that quickly?_ But Wild was sifting through the pocket in his sleeveless hoodie. “I mean, sometimes the housekeeper finds some interesting stuff lying around.” 

Horror dawned on Twilight’s face as he saw Wild pull crumpled sheets of paper out of his pocket. He lunged to snatch the paper up, but he wasn’t fast enough. The two tussled on Malon’s couch for several seconds, fighting for possession of the stolen pages of Time’s letter, before Malon reached in to pluck the pages out of Wild’s hands. 

Twilight blanched. “Uh, Malon, I’m not sure you should--”

But her eyes were already scanning the pages, speed-reading through the words Time had meticulously poured out of his heart and onto a piece of paper that he’d thrown into the trash. She covered her mouth, turning away from the boys and walking across the living room toward the windows. 

Twilight frowned down at Wild. “You dipshit,” he whisper-shouted, punching him in the arm a few times for good measure. 

Several tense minutes passed in silence as Malon leafed through the second, then the third page of scratched words. She laughed softly as she finished the last line, whispering more to herself than to the boys, “Still as sentimental as ever.” She folded the letter and pressed it to her breast, sighing softly as she gazed out the window. 

“Who’s the dipshit now?” Wild replied, shoving Twilight off of him roughly. 

“So you are staying at the townhouse, then.” 

Twilight straightened up. “Yes, we both are.” 

She turned to Twilight, her eyes shining. “Are there really still lilacs in the backyard?”

“Yes ma’am.” Twilight had never seen a lilac in his life. 

Malon settled back down on the ottoman and fondly fingered the edges of the letter in her lap. “Well then, why don’t you boys tell me the real reason why you’re here.”

___

At 5:15 exactly, Time turned the keys in his front door lock. The kitchen was devoid of people as he entered, although cooking accoutrements still cluttered the counter. He could hear voices through the kitchen window; the boys must be having dinner out on the porch. He decided to take advantage of the rarity of alone time, strolling into the living room to select a book from the shelves.

Choosing an old classic with dog-eared corners, Time sat in the opulent living room by himself. He was used to silence ringing oppressively in his ears while lounging here, but the occasional burst of laughter from outside filtered in through the screen door. Just like the rest of the house, the living room was much less dusty now, much more lived-in than it had been. Something was out of place, though, and it took several minutes of searching before he figured out what it was. 

The sconce to the right of the door frame fit flush against the wall, and the dent in the base had been rounded out. Time stared at it. That sconce had been cockeyed for _years_. He could remember in excruciating detail when it happened and still sported a scar on his knuckles from the incident. 

_“Link, talk to me! You can’t just shut down and push me away when you get scared!”_

**_“I HAVE TO!!”_ **

It wasn’t his proudest moment, nor his smartest, but when Malon left their home in tears with a full suitcase, Time had immediately spiraled into the anger stage of his grief. The sconce was one of many casualties in the house that night. 

The unwelcome memory made him grimace. _Perhaps having company wasn’t so bad after all._ Following the sound of voices, Time headed toward the back porch.

The boys had been busy today, apparently. The backyard had been just as neglected as the inside of the townhouse; weeds grew up through cracks in the blacktop, and although the grass was kept short it was by no means cared for. Old lawn furniture had been dredged up from the depths of the basement, cleaned and repaired where needed, and now adorned the corner of the yard nearest to the porch. Picnic lights were strung up along the awning and the fence. The flower beds were freshly mulched and some new shrubbery had been planted. 

Finished with their work for the day, the boys were sitting around the picnic table, drinking and laughing together while Wild manned a small charcoal grill. Empty cans were set along the fence at the back of the yard. Legend stood at a line marked by two pieces of broken plywood, concentrating as he aimed a slingshot toward the fence. He let a pebble fly, but it harmlessly bounced off of the grass several feet short of his target.

“Man, Four isn’t the shortest thing around here for once.”

Legend scowled at Twilight, setting the slingshot against his arm and snapping the rubber against his bicep. “Well that’s what happens when you set the line _thirty feet back_ from where we started!”

Wind took advantage of the distraction among the boys to sneak into their cooler, grabbing a beer for himself before creeping back toward the house. “Hey!” Twilight caught him from the corner of his eye, snatching the can from him with a scowl. ”Aren’t you a little young?”

“Aren’t you forgetting about our little photo shoot the other day?” Wind returned his scowl, snatching the can right back. “You owe me.”

“Greasy little thief.” 

“Haughty fucking prick.”

“Oh, afternoon sir!” Wild waved to Time as he descended the porch steps. “I’m glad you found us out here, we have more burgers than we know what to do with!”

Wind swiftly set the can down in front of Twilight like it had been there all along. 

“Afternoon, boys. Looks like you’ve all been busy today.” Time approached the group, hands in his pockets as he appreciated their handiwork. “You even fixed the picnic table.” 

“ _I_ fixed the picnic table, everyone else sat around giving ‘helpful’ advice.” Four sat at a low angle to the tabletop, judging the level of each plank relative to the next.

“Like you could have carried it out here by yourself,” Warriors snorted. 

“We all had a little bit of free time today so we thought we’d spend it outdoors.” Twilight offered Time a beer, which he declined with a shake of his head. 

“And in the basement as well, I see.” Time nodded toward Legend. “Where on earth did you find that?”

“This?” Legend offered the slingshot to Time. “This was just on the shelf in the garage. We thought it might be fun for target practice, but it’s surprisingly difficult to use.” 

Time turned it over in his hand. The varnish had worn off of the smooth wooden handle, and the strip of rubber somehow hadn’t dry rotted over the years. “I haven’t seen this thing since I was a kid.” 

“Why don’t you try it out?” Wild plated the first of the burgers, setting it on the table next to where Sky was slumped, fast asleep. 

“Oh no, it’s been years since I’ve used this.”

“Then how about a bet.” Warriors grinned antagonistically, setting his chin in his hands. “See if you can hit all eight cans off of the fence without missing one. If you lose, we all get a month’s rent free.”

The boys scoffed, sure Time would never take the bait. But without even looking up, Time replied, “And when I win, you all get to scrub down my bathroom by hand every week for the rest of the month.” 

“ _If_ you win,” Legend corrected him. 

Time grabbed a handful of pebbles from their collection at the edge of the table, stepping up to the makeshift line and taking a moment to judge the distance. He set one foot slightly ahead of the other, shifting his weight into his leading leg like he was setting up at a shooting range. “He can’t have any depth perception,” Warriors whispered, winking meaningfully. Twilight kicked him under the table. 

_Ping!_

The first can clattered to the asphalt, and Warriors rolled his eyes. The second, third, and fourth were quick to follow. That was when Twilight sat up straighter. Time’s movements were quick and precise, barely moving the arm he aimed with as he loaded the next projectile. 

_Ping! Ping!_

None of the other boys were able to hit three in a row, and in less than thirty seconds Time had cleared off the fence without missing a single one. He turned back toward the table with a little self-satisfied smile, setting the slingshot down. He was met with a bouquet of surprised stares. “Well, I guess it’s a bit like riding a bike, isn’t it?” 

The boys glowered at Warriors, who threw his hands up in exasperation. “How was I supposed to know!?”

Time laughed, walking back toward the house as the table erupted in argument. He accepted the plate Wild offered him as he walked up the porch steps. “How did you do that?” the younger man asked, incredulous. 

“Easy. Eight cans, eight of you.” He took a big bite of his burger on his way through the door. “It’s all about visualization.”

___

  
  


The boys were slow to clean up from dinner, enjoying hanging out and laughing in their new outdoor space. It was well after 10:00 when Twilight and Legend started on dishes, their hushed discussion masked by the din of clinking plates and silverware in the sink. 

“I’m just not certain it’s a good idea.” Twilight handed Legend a dripping plate. 

“You saw what he wrote. You can’t tell me he’s not interested in seeing her again.” 

“Yeah, but she’s moving out of the city in _two weeks_.” Twilight frowned into the soapy sink basin. “Even if it goes well, she’s very likely going to leave again. I’m worried it would break his heart.” 

“Not if he plays his cards right.” Warriors sat at the counter behind them, being decidedly less than helpful with cleanup as he picked at the remaining few French fries. 

“That’s true.” Legend hefted a stack of dry plates into the cupboard. “All we can do is arrange the meeting. If he wants her to stay, he’ll need to work that out on his own.” 

“You can lead an old horse to water,” Warriors quirked a brow, “But it’s up to him to decide if he’s thirsty enough.” Twilight passed Warriors a look of disdain, to which War threw up his hands defensively. 

“I don’t know, guys. This has the makings of a real shitstorm.” Twilight rinsed the silverware, watching the soapy water spiral down the drain. “I’m just worried we’re setting him up to fail.”

“Well we already have the reservations, and thanks to you we know Malon will definitely be there.” Legend wrung the damp dishcloth out over the sink. “If we don’t move forward it looks like he stood her up, and that would be even worse.” 

“Hey Twi,” Wild entered the kitchen, chuckling softly, “I think your little cousin dropped this love note for you on the way up the stairs. I just found this near the door.” 

Wild held out a wrinkled scrap of paper for the other boys to read, words scrawled in red ink: _Complacence kills._

Twilight rolled his eyes. “What a dramatic little creep.”

___

The first of the month meant that most of the rent checks would be stuck to the refrigerator with magnets. It was always a bit of a scavenger hunt, and Time wondered whether they made a harmless game of it or if Wild even realized he’d left his check in the crisper. There was an extra bit of stationary on the refrigerator this morning, a crisp white envelope with a handwritten note inside:

_You are cordially invited to dinner this evening at Romani Steakhouse. Dress is fancy-casual._

_Thanks for putting up with us._

And on the back, in smaller print:

_We_ _know_ _you’re free tonight._

The restaurant was quite a bit busier than Time was mentally prepared for. He sandwiched himself between people standing near the host’s stand, making his way to the front to check in. He was surprised to find a familiar face at the front of the line. 

“Good evening, sir,” Warriors crooned, offering a superfluous bow. “I see you accepted your invitation.”

“Well, it seemed rude to decline, considering you checked my schedule for me.” Time regarded Warriors carefully. “I didn’t know you worked here.”

“It’s a recent development. The rent at my new place is a bit steeper than I bargained for.” 

“Is that my smoking jacket?”

Warriors glared down the length of his nose at Time as though offended. “Right this way, sir.” He inclined his head for Time to follow as he led the way into the bustling restaurant. 

Time followed him through the main dining area into a hallway that separated out private dining rooms and terminated at the doors to the kitchen. As they approached the last room on the left, Warriors graciously motioned for Time to take the lead. “After you, sir.”

Time stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her. Malon sat at the small table by herself, hands clasped in her lap as she gazed out the window. Auburn curls delicately framed her shoulders, and she wore a modest purple dress with a sweetheart neckline. _She knew he loved her in purple_. Wide open French doors overlooked the courtyard illuminated by soft fairy lights in the center of the restaurant. It was intimate and romantic and absolutely perfect. Time couldn’t have planned it better himself.

Time turned on his heel to level Warriors with a look that would kill a lesser man. “Is this your idea of a sick joke?”

Warriors could feel Time’s rising ire, but he wasn’t one to be deterred. “No joke. We just wanted to give you a nice evening on the town with a beautiful woman.”

“This is completely uncalled for.” Time stepped around Warriors and swiftly retreated back down the hallway. He didn’t make it very far before a busboy cart blocked the passage. Leaning on it lazily, Legend was unimpressed by the boiling rage pouring off of Time like steam. 

“Hey now, we didn’t all take on part-time jobs here just for you to bail on your date.”

Time glowered down at Legend with growing fury, reaching down to push the cart aside, but it was immobile with Legeld leaning on it so heavily. “Come on Old Man,” he continued with a smarmy smirk, “You can’t hide your feelings forever.” 

“Oh no? Then let me tell you how I feel.” Time hauled Legend upright by the collar, and Legend was surprised at the strength behind his grip. He spoke through clenched teeth, “I have never been so furious with _eight individual people_ before in my life. I don’t know whether Twilight fed you some sentimental bullshit or if you worthless freeloaders were rifling through my things yourselves, but when I find out which one of you is the mastermind behind this half-brained plot I’m going to murder him mysel--”

The sound of Warriors loudly clearing his throat caught Time’s attention. He looked up to find that they were standing outside another private room that was hosting a small party. All twelve patrons at the table were openly staring as Time loudly threatened a restaurant employee. 

“Now now,” Warriors came up behind him, easing his arms down and unclasping his hands from Legend’s collar. He turned Time around by the shoulders, straightening his lapels for him. “We all know you’re nervous, but that’s no way to treat the help.”

“I’m not nervous, I’m _incensed_ .” Time stood straight with fists clenched at his sides, restraining himself for the sake of onlookers. “What are you morons _thinking_?”

“We’re just thinking that you seem a bit tense.” Warriors licked his fingers and reached to tame a flyaway in Time’s bangs, but Time smacked his hand away before he could. War clutched his hand, offended. 

“And look how right we were.” Four strolled past, a tray of empty glassware hefted overhead. Time had never seen his hair looking so neat. “Now, would you gentlemen please clear the hallway? This is the only thoroughfare to and from the kitchen, you know.”

“I’d be happy to.” Time roughly yanked Legend’s cart out of the way and stormed off toward the main dining room again, but this time his exit was blocked by another body. 

“I’m sorry sir, you seem lost.”

Time blinked. He had never seen Sky awake, much less dressed in real clothing, and yet here he stood in a pressed shirt and black slacks, his hair neatly combed and a gentle smile on his face. “Allow me to show you to your table.” He looped one arm around Time’s - man, this kid had a _grip_ \- and Warriors grasped the other, the pair firmly leading him back down the hallway.

Time dug his heels into the carpet, cursing under his breath as the two young men marched him along like an unruly child. Legend and Four abandoned their trays to grab his legs, lifting him bodily off of the floor. 

“I hope you all have a new place lined up because after tonight, you’ll be lucky to make it out of here _alive_ , much less with a place to live! I should _never_ have let Twilight talk me into letting you stay. First you ruin my home, now you are all _ruining my life_ by butting in where you don’t--”

The four young men braced and heaved Time back onto his feet. He stumbled forward into the private dining room, catching himself before he fell flat on his face.

“Link!”

Time stood straight and tall as though he’d been electrocuted. Malon stood from the table, smiling sweetly at him as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. He followed the movement with his eye, his brow softening as his gaze traced the curve of her jaw, the fullness of her lips, the way her dress tightened across her chest as she held her breath, the way her lashes framed her bright blue eyes. 

_She was breathtaking._

“It’s been so long.” 

His mouth felt dry. He opened it, closed it, opened it again, finding himself incapable of any modicum of coherent speech. 

Warriors, Legend, and Four gripped the doorsill, staring at the back of Time’s head, waiting for him to say something. Sky cleared his throat, gently nudging the three of them away from the door. “Let’s give them some privacy, shall we? We’ve got work to do.”

___

  
  


If Twilight thought grocery store work was overwhelming, then working in a busy kitchen on a Saturday night was his own special version of hell. He was always in the way and never where he was supposed to be, tripping over himself to avoid being burned by pots of boiling water or cutting off limbs with extraordinarily sharp knives. While Twilight fumbled, he’d never seen Wild so focused before. As the kitchen’s dedicated _Saucier_ , Wild flitted around his station, testing and spicing, shouting over the din of the kitchen and tersely directing his junior chefs.

Legend wheeled his cart to a stop at the station where Twilight was busy chopping garlic. “How goes it?”

“I have never been more stressed out in my life.” Twilight was panting as though he’d been running a marathon. “How’s it going out there?”

“Well, when we finally got him to the table, he shook her hand.” Legend loaded garden salads onto his empty tray. “So just as you’d expect.”

“Now now, let’s give him a chance.” Sky breezed past with a tray of appetizers on his arm. “We blindsided him with this whole thing; he just needs time to settle in.”

Legend glanced around before leaning in, “I suggest you lay low in here for your own sake.” 

Twilight winced. “Did he threaten murder?”

“You called it.”

“ _HEY!!_ I need that garlic over here stat!” Wild shouted over at Twilight, “And how far along is the spinach?”

Twilight jumped, scooping his handful of chopped garlic into a bowl and spilling nearly half of it on the floor in the process. Wild loudly groaned from across the kitchen. “Keep me posted,” Twilight said as he hurried off. 

___

  
  


The soft candlelight played off of her curls, dancing along the line of her collarbone, catching in the satin strands of her dress. The sound of her voice eased the tension in his neck, caused the muscles clenching his jaw shut to soften. Time was completely mesmerized by her. 

“Link, are you alright? You’ve hardly said two words since you sat down.” 

_Because you’ve taken my breath away._

“I-I’m fine.” Time straightened up, not having realized that he’d been leaning toward her in the first place. His ears felt warm. “I’m just--”

Four leaned across the table to fill Malon’s water glass, studiously avoiding eye contact.

“...Just a little distracted.” 

“Good evening,” Sky stepped up to the table, offering a polite little bow, “And welcome to Romani Steakhouse. It is my pleasure to be serving you this evening. Any special occasion we’re celebrating tonight?”

Time clenched his jaw.

“Oh no,” Malon replied with a smile, “Just a reunion of old friends.”

Four winced as he finished filling Time’s glass.

Sky, to his credit, didn’t miss a beat. “Well, nothing is more special than sharing old memories and making new ones. Can I interest you in our wine list?”

While Sky went on about wine pairings and drink specials, Time kept his eyes on the hallway. Both Four and Legend passed by rather frequently on their way to and from other dining rooms. There was clearly some planning involved in positioning him this close to the kitchen; it gave the boys an excuse to spy more regularly. Sky would of course be in and out for most of the night.

“And what would you like to drink, sir?”

Time snapped to attention. “Water is fine, thanks.”

“Very well.” With a courteous nod, Sky was gone. 

Alone again, a heavy silence settled between them. Time hadn’t felt this awkward since high school. More than uncomfortable, though, it felt shameful. Here sat the woman to whom he had promised to devote his life, and yet he couldn’t come up with the first thing to say to her. When Malon met his gaze, she could plainly see the struggle on his face. 

“Malon, I…”

_You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on._

“... It’s so good to…” 

_I don’t deserve to breathe the same air as you._

“... To finally…” 

_I’ve missed you._

There were thousands of things he wanted to say to her - he _needed_ to say to her - too many words tripping over themselves as they tried to rush out of his mouth. _If only he’d had a moment to prepare for this._

“It’s good to see you too, Link.” Her smile was so radiant he felt his cheeks burning. “Tell me, how are things going?”

_My life is dreadful without you._

Sky promptly returned with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

“Just fine.” He couldn’t meet her gaze. 

“For the lady.” Sky set a glass on the table in front of Malon, giving her a generous pour of Malbec. “Have you had a chance to look over our menu?”

The delicate way she gripped the stem of her wine glass, swirling its contents, captivated him. His mouth watered as he traced the curve of her wrist with his eye, longed to trace it with the tips of his fingers. Being in her presence was _too much_. He had too many thoughts all at once - anxious and virile and angry and repentant - all fighting to be at the forefront of his mind, leaving him silent and scattered. 

“And for you sir?”

Malon passed her menu back to Sky, glancing to where Time’s menu lay untouched on the table. “Aren’t you hungry?”

_I am starving to taste you again._

“Ah, right.” He cracked the cover, taking a cursory leaf through the pages, not reading a single word. “What you ordered sounded lovely, I’d like that too.”

The awkward silence that settled between them was punctuated by the clinking of silverware on salad plates. Malon appeared relatively unphased by the dearth of conversation while Time felt like he could crawl out of his own skin. He tried a few bites of his salad but found that his stomach was sour with nerves and ended up just pushing radishes and greenery around on his plate. 

If he was able to time it right and slip past Sky, Legend, and Four in the hallway, Time would still have Warriors guarding the front entrance to prevent his escape. If he tried to sneak out a back door through the kitchen, he would most likely run into Wild. Who knows where Twilight was positioned. Would Wind be in on this too? 

“How is the townhouse?” Malon tried to keep her voice light, but there was an undercurrent of sadness in her tone. 

_It stands a cold and dusty monument to my failure as your husband._

“Quiet.” 

As silence stretched on beyond his terse reply, he saw the shift in Malon’s posture. It was a subtle change, but he knew her better than anyone. She was disappointed. 

He was disappointing her. 

_“Link, talk to me!”_

_Just fucking say something!!_

“That’s a lie.” He was rewarded as she met his gaze again. “It’s… Actually been rather busy. Twilight is staying with me for a while.”

“Oh?” 

“Yes. He moved out to the city to find work.” Time resisted the urge to fall silent again. “And Wind, too, is staying there for the semester.” 

“Did he decide to not stay in the dorm this year?”

“...Something like that.” 

“Hm.” Malon set her fork down, moving her salad plate to the side. “It must be nice to have them staying with you. Makes it more cozy, doesn’t it?”

“Honestly,” Time slid his untouched plate aside, glancing at Legend as he entered to take it away, “It feels a bit crowded.”

Time was getting used to using his own voice again, and taking the focus off of himself was helping a bit, too. It was a verbal match of tennis: she served to him gently, and he just needed the gumption to chase the topic and keep the ball in the air. 

“Wind’s grandmother must be happy you’re around to keep him in line.”

“It’s easier than you’d think. All I need to do is play dumb and let him do the rest.”

Time would run himself ragged just to see how her eyes lit up as they chatted. 

He was grateful for Sky’s silent accompaniment, appreciating when he shooed Legend down the hallway or shoved War’s face away from the door. Gradually, he stopped noticing the boys coming in and out of the dining room or pacing by slowly in the hallway as he became absorbed in conversation. 

As their next course arrived, Four walked in balancing two steaming bowls of soup overhead. Time could tell that he wasn’t a very practiced waiter and eyed him carefully as he approached the table. Four’s slacks were cuffed several times over scuffed dress boots. As one of those cuffs started to come undone it got caught underfoot, and he was quick to lose his balance in the direction of the table. 

Time was on his feet before Malon had even realized what was happening, leaning over her and wincing at the impact of hot soup on his back. She gasped in surprise. He was relieved to see that her dress was spared, although some red flecks dotted her cheek and shoulder. The tray and bowls clattered to the floor followed by Four, who looked mortified. Gobs of thick tomato broth ran down the back of Time’s jacket, dripping thickly off the edge of its hem and congealing on the carpet. 

Sky jogged into the room, quickly helping gather broken dishware off of the floor. Warriors was on his heels, ushering Time away from the culinary carnage and whisking his jacket off of his shoulders. “Ugh, and Irish linen,” he whispered with pain in his voice. “Well, mercifully it’s double lined, so your undershirt is spared.” 

“It’s fine,” Time huffed. _This might as well happen._

Warriors offered his own jacket, but Time declined with a shake of his head. Sky and Four made quick work of cleaning up the floor, leaving Malon startled by their efficiency. The three were out of the room in less than a minute, and Time rejoined her at the table with a sigh. 

“Sorry about that.”

“No! No apologies. You saved me from a very expensive dry cleaning bill.” Malon grinned as she raised her glass. “My hero.” 

At least the messy interlude dispelled much of the tension from the air. Conversation began flowing much more easily, and hearing Malon’s laugh caused goosebumps to rise on his forearms. Time even accepted a glass of wine, the growing magic of the evening nearly making him giddy enough to consider proposing a toast. As the main course was delivered, the two tucked into their entrees: bone-in ribeye that was seared to perfection, accompanied by fluffy garlic mashed potatoes and a medley of roasted seasonal vegetables. Wild’s cooking was on point as ever, and Time found that finally his stomach was settled enough to enjoy it.

The sharp sound of a violin in pain sounded from out in the courtyard. Time could tell without looking that Warriors hadn’t held the instrument in years. The first few notes were tentative and his vibrato a bit rusty, but gradually he refamiliarized himself with the strings as he played. Shortly afterward, a groaning cello joined in, the two weaving a tangling tone that tripped over itself more than once. Time had to admit it was somewhat comical to see Legend struggling to stretch his arms around the four foot tall instrument. 

Malon chuckled softly at the impromptu concert. “They’re not terribly good, are they?”

“Not quite,” Time kept his eyes on her, his heart warming to see her smile, “But they seem like they’re trying their best.”

If Warriors was no longer stationed near the door, perhaps both he and Malon could make their getaway together.

But then she gasped, and the feel of her hand on his sent electricity up his arm, and suddenly he didn’t want to be anywhere else in the world at all. 

“Don’t you recognize this song?”

It was difficult to hear over the sound of his pulse thrumming in his ears, but the notes he was able to pick up did sound familiar, like something remembered from a lifetime ago. 

_“...Like a river flows, surely to the sea…”_

_The afternoon was bright and warm, windows open and curtains ruffling in the breeze. The kitchen was somewhat strange to navigate, having a long marble counter in the center, and they laughed as they tripped over one another while cleaning up after dinner. Perhaps as they settled into their new home, they would get used to navigating it._

_“...Darling, so it goes…”_

_When she was happy, she would sing softly while washing the dishes, her voice rich like warm honey. He couldn’t resist snatching the sponge away from her, laughing as her soapy hands left water prints on his shirt. He pulled her close and leaned his forehead against hers, their hips swaying with the tune._

_“...Some things are meant to be.”_

No, their pitch wasn’t quite right, and the evening wasn’t how he might have planned it, and he might not have consented to this setup in the first place, but when Malon started softly singing, suddenly everything about this evening was just perfect. 

_I am so, so sorry I ever let you walk out of my life._

Sky and Twilight tumbled out of the side door from the kitchen into the courtyard, fury in their eyes as they advanced upon Warriors and Legend who barely faltered in their tune. “What the fuck, guys!?” Sky whisper-shouted, crouching near the hedges as he and Twilight attempted a stealthy advance. “This wasn’t part of the plan!”

“Emergency backup plan F,” Legend’s brow twitched as he hit a sharp instead of a flat, “To make up for Four’s messy mistake.”

“How did you even know what their wedding song was?” Twilight scrubbed his face with his palms. “Did you dig _that_ bit of information out of his trash, too?”

“No,” Legend whispered, “It was in his old wedding album upstairs.”

“Could you at least _try_ to be more subtle?” 

“Well that doesn’t sound like much fun.” Warriors swayed slowly as his fingers worked the strings of his violin with growing proficiency. 

Twilight sighed heavily. _At least he wasn’t keen on keeping this as a part-time job_. He rolled up his sleeves, straightening up from where he crouched in the shrubbery. He wanted this to be a nice evening for Time, and if he had to commit some violence to make that happen, so be it. 

“Twi, wait!” Sky pulled him back down, motioning up toward the open dining room doors. 

“ _...Take my hand, take my whole life too…_ ”

Their first touches were tentative, a bit unsure at first where to place their hands, but Time and Malon slowly settled in close to one another as they swayed to the familiar tune, their bodies fitting together like two pieces of a puzzle. She rested her head on his shoulder, and although Time kept his back to the courtyard, the reddening tips of his ears betrayed him. Her voice was so sweet and melodic, it reminded Twilight of honeysuckle on a warm afternoon. 

“ _...For I can’t help falling in love with you._ ”

___

  
  


Mercifully, working in a busy kitchen meant that the night went very quickly. Sky and Four and Legend would bring encouraging updates each time they breezed past Twilight’s station. 

“Well now that he’s finally started talking, he won’t shut up.”

“They can’t take their eyes off of each other.”

“He can actually make someone laugh!”

Twilight also had the added benefit of being positioned near the door where he could carefully curate which dishes were taken out to the table, even if it was a bit of a fight with Wild. Despite his mandates of “nothing heart-shaped” and “no flaming desserts,” he still needed to intercept the heart-shaped plate of cherries jubilee on its way out the door. 

Despite its rough start, the date was a success. Time and Malon didn’t leave the restaurant until a few minutes before closing.

When their shift came to a close - and after Warriors turned in his badge and dramatically quit in front of the entire kitchen staff - the six boys walked home together, both tired and elated that their plan actually worked. 

“Do you think it’s really going to work out between them?” Sky yawned loudly, stretching his arms overhead. 

“Well, at this point we’ve done all we can do.” Legend hefted his cello over the opposite shoulder as he plodded along. “It’s up to the Old Man to keep the ball rolling if he really wants to play.”

“And since he courteously offered to walk her home,” Warriors sidled up alongside Twilight with a suggestive wink, “Perhaps we shouldn’t wait up.” 

“Don’t be gross.” Twilight shoved War away amidst a chorus of laughter. 

“Um, has anyone seen my keys?” Wild was frantically digging in every pocket.

“I got it.” As Twilight climbed onto the porch, pulling out his keys, something glinting in the dim streetlight caught his eye. A short knife was embedded into the door, splitting the face of the old tree down the middle. It pinned an ivory scrap of paper to the wood. Twilight felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

“Wild, where did you say you found that note from Wind the other day?”

“On the floor by the front door.” Wild bounced up next to Twilight, peering over his shoulder at the words scrawled in blood red ink:

_What sort of company are you keeping these days?_

_Do you think your new friends consider you a friend, too?_


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Twilight and Wind wear their Get Along Shirt, Wild buys some cheese, and the boys entertain some unexpected houseguests.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW's abound on this one, most of which are related to graphic depictions of violence, although I try to leave some things to the imagination (which could be worse). If that isn't your thing, you should stop reading at the section break marked by *****.

Malon’s morning routine was simple: wake early, water the plants, light exercise in the living room, luxurious shower, dress for work. She would spend some quality time with her tea and leaf through a book over breakfast which seldom failed to make her run late. Today she caught herself early, though, and made it to the door with ample time for the interruption to today’s routine. 

As Malon opened the door to her apartment, she startled at the flash of crimson on her doorstep. A dozen bright red roses wrapped in cellophane lay at her door, a handwritten card tucked among the blooms: 

_ Dear Malon,  _

_ Spending an evening with you is always a pleasure.  _

_ I hope we will see more of each other soon.  _

_ \- Link. _

Malon closed her eyes as she indulged in the rich scent of the bouquet. It was so like him to send flowers after a date. She returned to her kitchen, retrieving a vase from beneath the sink. As she waited for it to fill under the tap, she scrutinized the written note.  _ This didn’t necessarily look like his handwriting...  _

She didn’t have long to ponder, though, before a soft knock came at the door. Malon hurried down the hallway and peered through the peephole. She couldn’t even  _ see _ the delivery boy beneath the bountiful bouquet of at least fifty lavender-colored rosebuds. 

“Hello, are you Miss Malon?” 

“Uh, yes! Thank you, darling.” 

She took the heavy vase from him and kicked the door shut as she carried it down the hall. Setting this bouquet next to the first, she found a small card tucked into these as well:

_ Mavourneen, _

_ You make it so easy to fall in love with you  _

_ all over again. Words can express neither  _

_ my gratitude, nor my apologies.  _

_ Please find it in your heart to forgive me. _

_ Always yours, L.  _

Malon huffed a soft laugh, admiring both thoughtful bouquets as she got to work tucking the bright red roses in among the lavender bouquet. Either Time’s memory was failing him, or he had some eager young men working hard to help him make a good impression. 

___

Twilight’s morning started quite a bit later than usual. After an exhausting night at the steakhouse and coming home to cryptic notes stabbed into the door, it had been a challenge to fall asleep right away. The second floor was empty as he stumbled into the bathroom to turn on the shower. 

Twilight stood under the warm spray, allowing it to soak through his hair and stir his murky thoughts. Although the date had started rocky, it ended on a very high note. Time had walked Malon home, and Twilight wasn’t even sure if he’d come back to the house last night. At least  _ that _ part of the evening could be considered a success.

Twilight poured a generous dollop of shampoo into his palm. Funny, the bottle seemed so much lighter than it had yesterday, and he had been wondering why Wild had smelled so familiar.

When Twilight had knocked on Wind’s bedroom door last night, the younger boy was still awake and seemed perturbed by the disturbance. His bedroom was cluttered: clothing and shoes were strewn about the floor, the bed unmade, and apparently  _ this _ was where all the cups in the house were vanishing to. Four monitors crowded the desk at the far end of the room, each displaying something different - video editing software, a generic blog, a paused video game, and the rapidly-scrolling text of a Discord server. 

“What do you want?”

Twilight spared him any familiarities, holding up the note. “Did you write this?”

Wind scanned the note quickly, his brows knitting. “No.”

“Did you go anywhere tonight?”

Wind glared at him silently.  _ Looks like that is a no. _

Twilight continued, “Did you hear anything weird while you were up here?”

“I’ve had my headphones in all night.” Wind’s expression shifted from annoyance to curiosity. “What gives?”

Twilight regarded him carefully, but it didn’t take long for him to determine that Wind couldn’t be trusted. “Nevermind.” Without another word, he’d descended the stairs to the second floor. 

Twilight rinsed and toweled off, wandered back to his room to dress, nodded to Hyrule on his way down the stairs, and joined the crowd in the kitchen. Wild was in rare form this morning, apparently still riding high from the success of last night. He was bouncing to the beat in his head as he flipped pancakes on the stove, running four skillets at one time. Warriors was considerably less enthused about the morning, slouched low in his spot at the kitchen table, clutching his tea like it was the only thing keeping him alive at this hour. Four leaned his head on his arm where he sat at the counter, drawing schematics with his fork in the syrup on his plate. Next to him slumped Sky, fast asleep in a modest puddle of drool. Twilight murmured a morning greeting, prying the coffee pot out of Legend’s hands as he did. 

“Morning, Twi!” Wild chirped, causing the boys at the counter to wince. “Your choice of pancakes today: blueberry, cinnamon raisin swirl, banana walnut, or chocolate chip!”

But it wasn’t Twilight’s voice that answered, “I’ll take three blueberry, please.” 

Time’s sudden appearance caused a perceptible shift in the kitchen: Twilight stood at military attention; Warriors sat up in his chair with a sleepy inhale; Four’s and Legend’s eyes snapped to the doorway, breath held. Only Wild was unaffected. “Good morning, sir. Comin’ right up!” The skillet hissed as he poured a fresh puddle of batter onto its surface. 

Time entered the kitchen, moving with the same relaxed precision as he always did. Twilight nodded to him in greeting and found that Time’s expression was as unreadable as ever. Twilight slid stiffly onto a stool at the end of the kitchen counter, keeping his eye on Time as the older man poured his coffee, accepted his plate from Wild, and settled in at the kitchen table with his breakfast. Seated across from him, Warriors made meaningful eye contact with Twilight. Seconds later, his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was their group chat: 

_ Warriors - 9:42am _

Looks like somebody else had a late night, too

_ Legend - 9:42am _

I thought he wasn’t home. This is the latest I’ve seen him get up, I think.

_ Four - 9:43am _

did anyone else not hear him come into the kitchen???

_ Warriors - 9:43am _

Either he really couldnt shut up last night or malon treated him to some dessert

_ Twilight - 9:44am _

Ew stop

_ Wild - 9:45am _

Do we tell him about the note?

Twilight pursed his lips. 

_ Four - 9:45am _

Obviously

_ Legend - 9:45am _

Obviously NOT

_ Warriors - 9:45am _

And dispel the afterglow?? 

Four dont be cruel

_ Four - 9:46am _

He needs to know. these arent friendly notes

Time sat enjoying his breakfast, eyeing the four boys busily typing away in their phones, occasionally glaring at one another. He was mildly annoyed to consider what was so important to discuss in silence. 

_ Legend - 9:47am _

I think he needs to know, but not just yet.

_ Wild - 9:47am _

Yeah but what if somebodys out to get him?? 

What if its the same person who took his eye???

_ Warriors - 9:47am _

Wild its been years since the man has gotten laid 

Let him have his breakfast in peace

Time cleared his throat, setting his napkin on the table. “I suppose I should thank you boys.” 

The sound of his voice ceased all frenetic typing, the boys lifting their eyes to him with uncertainty.  _ Was this a trap? _

“Last night was… nice. So nice, in fact, that I will be seeing Malon again later this week. So, sorry if I threatened anyone.” 

It was Time’s turn to avoid eye contact with the room as he stood, crossing the kitchen to deposit his plate in the sink. Legend and Warriors exchanged a glance, brows raised. Time refilled his coffee mug and headed toward the door, the boys feeling some modicum of relief as he made to exit. 

_ Twilight - 9:48am  _

Not yet. Let him focus on things with Malon right now.

“But don’t think I’m letting you off the hook from our little bet. My bathroom still needs to be cleaned, and I’d like it done today.” 

And he was out the door.

___

  
  


Only two boys could fit comfortably in Time’s bathroom at once, so they drew straws and assigned themselves shifts, two boys each week for the rest of the month. Twilight drew the shortest of straws, being paired with Wind for the first cleaning shift of their assignment. The pair met in the hallway outside of Time’s bathroom, Wind regarding Twilight with mistrust, Twilight regarding Wind with disdain. 

Wind folded his arms. “I’ll get the shower and sink if you do the toilet and floor.” 

“Whatever.” 

The pair awkwardly pushed through the doorway at the same time, digging cleaning supplies out from beneath the sink and getting started in silence. Wind started removing bottles and loofahs from the shower, watching from the corner of his eye as Twilight pulled on a pair of yellow rubber gloves and lifted the toilet seat. 

“You and your weirdos were out late last night. Have fun playing kitchen?”

Twilight didn’t answer, grabbing the toilet brush from behind the tank.

“Did the Old Man kiss and make up with his ex?”

Twilight pursed his lips, dousing the bowl with cleaner. 

Wind huffed, finding being ignored much more annoying than a verbal spar. He stepped into the shower to begin scrubbing the grout. “What was with that creepy note you guys found last night?” 

“Couldn’t have been for you,” Twilight deadpanned, “You don’t seem to have any friends.”

Wind frowned, making a rude gesture behind Twilight’s back. “Y’know, the Old Man has done some shady shit in his life. Wonder if somebody’s out to get him.” 

Twilight faltered for a moment, dropping the bottle of cleaner into the toilet bowl and cursing as he did.

“Wait.” Wind peered out from the shower, fixing Twilight with a wide-eyed stare. “ _ Do _ you think someone’s out to get him?”

Twilight frowned in disapproval of Wind’s excitement at the prospect. 

“Why would somebody be after him? Grandma would never tell me what he does for a living, she just told me that she didn’t approve of… Whatever it is. Clearly it pays well. I bet it’s something dangerous.” Wind’s eyes got impossibly wider as he added with a whisper, “I bet he’s a spy.” 

Twilight snorted, shaking his head as he returned to his chore.

Wind returned to scrubbing the shower walls and Twilight could feel the static in the air around him as he rattled off an outlandish list: “Arms dealer… Hitman… Witness protection?...”

Several minutes passed in silence as the boys made short work of the master bath. Wind strained to reach the top of the mirror while Twilight filled the mop bucket with water.

“By the way, I think I recognize that handwriting.” 

Wind heard the faucet turn off. “From where?”

“You wouldn’t approve, Captain Condescending.”

“Wind, this is serious.” Twilight’s tone gave him pause, and Wind turned to find him looking grave. 

“So you  _ do _ think somebody’s after him!”

“Where have you seen it before?”

Wind regarded him carefully before continuing in a low voice, “When I caught you snooping in his study--”

“I was  _ not _ snooping.”

“--There was a note tucked into the front cover of one of his books that looked like the same kind of writing. It was  _ definitely _ in red ink.” 

“Do you remember what it said?”

Wind quirked a brow. “Somebody snatched the book out of my hands before I got the chance to read it.” 

Twilight slowly dunked the mop into the soapy bucket, pondering something in silence. Wind recognized the conflict in his eyes.  _ Such a pure country boy _ . A devilish grin slowly split his face. 

“If you want to try and find it, I can help, but we’ll need more than just the two of us to check out every book in that library.”

The group entered Time’s study with the same reverence one would enter a chapel. Wild was careful not to touch anything, hesitant to even sit on the couch. Nothing stopped Warriors from achieving maximum comfort, though, as he stretched out along all three cushions. 

Wind ran his fingers along the leather spines of some well-loved volumes. He chose one, its cover ever so slightly more faded than the rest, and opened it - but no note was to be found. He stuck the book back onto the shelf, reaching up two shelves and choosing another at random. 

“Hey, amateur,” Legend called to him, holding a stack of five books in his arms, “Lesson one about snooping: be methodical. Start at the top left and work your way down.” 

“Please don’t coach him,” Twilight sighed, sitting down heavily on the floor and pulling open an old classic. 

The boys flipped through books in silence for several minutes - all except for Warriors who, losing interest after the first two books, started flipping through his phone instead. They took turns reading out the more interesting or eccentric titles as they went. 

“‘The Magic of Folk Music.’”

“‘Geo-culinary Confidential: Prime Cuts of Slate in the Underbelly of Death Mountain.’”

“‘100 Years of Hyrule’s Bloody History.’ Harsh.” 

Legend went to draw his next stack of books and perked up. “Oh, hello,” he reached to the back of the bookshelf where a crumpled and dusty piece of paper was trapped. The newsprint paper was yellow and fragile with tiny thumbtack holes in the corners. 

_ SOMEONE GOT YOUR GHOT: _

_ SECOND BOSS DISAPPEARANCE MYSTIFIES POLICE _

Legend scanned the article. “‘Just two weeks after the disappearance of Odolwa restored peace in the Woodfall district, masked mobster Ghot has also gone missing. Authorities are puzzled’… Yadda yadda.” He flipped the article over only to find old ads on the back.

The boys exchanged a glance and shrugged. Legend snapped a photo of the article with his phone before gently returning it to the back of the shelf. 

“Warriors, are you comfortable? Can we get you anything?” Twilight glared at him from his seat on the floor.

“I’m quite fine, thanks for your concern.” 

“Do you plan on actually being helpful today?”

Warriors’s phone chirped with a new message, and he smirked as he read it. “Believe it or not, I do.” He turned the screen toward Twilight. 

_ Warriors - 11:10am  _

Rule, think you could help us dig up some dirt on the old man?

_ Hyrule - 11:13am _

how could i possibly help

_ Warriors - 11:13am  _

You have access to the hospital records dont you?

_ Hyrule - 11:17am _

thats illegal

_ Warriors - 11:17am  _

Great. Send to Twi

“Ohhh boy. Here’s a copy of ‘Interspecies Intimacy.’”

“Legend, shut up.” 

“No I’m serious!! Farore save us, there’s a bookmark on the Zora chapter.”

“Legend, I am  _ begging you _ \--”

“Oh, here, here!” Wind was practically bouncing as he pulled a scrap of paper from the inside cover of ‘Horology: Rules and Guidelines.’ He eagerly unfolded it as the others crowded around.

_ If you run out of time,  _

_ something  _ _ terrible _ _ might happen.  _

“It’s just as cryptic as the others.” Twilight accepted the note from Wind, checking the back and finding it blank. The paper was slightly yellowed with age. “But clearly this isn’t the first time he’s gotten notes like this.” 

A brief silence settled over the room. 

“Oh man, he would  _ kill us _ if he knew we saw this.” Wild had a large book bound in white leather open in his lap, and he excitedly turned it toward the group. On the open page was Time’s wedding portrait, his posture posed and anxious like an awkward prom photo. 

“Noo! Those  _ sideburns! _ ”

“Hey Wars, we found your Halloween costume this year.”

“Damn, Malon was kinda hot-- _ Ow _ , hey!”

The boys proceeded through the rest of the library, methodically stripping bookshelves and putting volumes back in the right order. Twilight was beginning to think that they’d have very little to show for their efforts until they got to the last shelf on the top. Sandwiched between two books was a second newspaper article, this one an entire front page spread that also bore thumbtack holes in the corners:

_ CLOCKTOWER CARNAGE: _

_ SUSPECTED MASKED KILLER MAJORA FOUND DEAD _

The boys crowded around to get a look at the accompanying photograph. The suspect in question - rumored to be responsible for a slew of gruesome murders and organized crime activity across the city - stared out of the page with bulging eyes. Twilight spread the article on the writing desk, scanning through quickly. 

“‘Suspected killer Majora was found dead just after midnight’… ‘Police are investigating the possibility that Majora’s murder is related to the disappearances of four local bosses over the last five months: Odolwa, Ghot, Gyorg, and Twinmold’... ‘Rumors abound regarding hired hitmen, rival bosses, even vigilantes’... ‘No leads at this time.’” 

“That’s every book and shelf along this wall.” Legend snapped a photo of this article, too, sending both photos to their group chat before diligently folding the article back up and tucking it back into place. “Two articles and one written note, everything else as boring as you’d expect. How about these?” Legend tapped on one of the locked drawers in the writing desk.

“I don’t think that’s a great idea.” Twilight meaningfully glanced to where Wind was helping Wild and Four finish replacing books. Legend nodded in reply. 

As Wild moved the wedding album back into its place, a small stack of papers slid out of the back cover, scattering across the floor. Wild grimaced as he picked one of them up and passed it to Twilight. “Kind of harsh to keep this in your wedding album.” It was a copy of their divorce settlement. Twilight could tell how Time’s pointed scrawl wavered, almost as though he had to force himself to sign it.

As Twilight glanced at the date on the settlement, he paused, pulling out his phone to scrutinize the articles they’d uncovered. The settlement was signed a little over three months after Ghot’s disappearance, and just a few weeks shy of the publication on Majora’s murder.

___

  
  


Time’s morning routine was a bit frenetic this morning: wake, mercifully find the bathroom empty, forget to brush his teeth before showering, go back to the bathroom after remembering he hadn’t put any product into his hair, dress, hate that outfit, change, pace for a moment, pull on a different pair of boots than his usual, down the hallway, back to the bedroom to change boots again, down the stairs. 

He was still fussing over his collar as he entered the empty kitchen. The coffee pot had been sitting for a while, its contents nearly lukewarm. He frowned as he dumped it into the sink and made to brew a new pot. His ears strained to pick up any sound of the boys, and eventually he did: soft voices in the backyard, clanking buckets, the hiss of bristles on concrete. 

As Time approached the back door, he found Four gently closing it behind him. The young man straightened up, a funny expression on his face. 

“Good morning,” Time greeted him, “I was just coming out to say hello.”

“Good morning!” Four said it just a bit too loudly, standing stiff as Time approached. “I was just about to brew a new pot of coffee, can you show me where the grinds are?” Four’s smile was less of a smile, more of a grimace, showing too many teeth. 

_ The same way dogs will do in appeasement _ . 

“Four, you’ve been living here for months now. You can’t possibly tell me you don’t know where the coffee is.” 

Time didn’t miss the way he pressed his palm against the door, like he was holding it closed. Time’s face darkened and Four shrank beneath his glare. Without a word, Time reached for the handle. 

As he went to grasp it, Twilight cracked the door open and regarded Time with surprise. “Oh, good morning!” Twilight slipped through the smallest opening in the door, shutting it behind him and standing sandwiched between Time and the door. The older man stood nearly chest-to-chest with him and he had to press himself back to maintain some space between them. “I was just coming in to brew a new pot of coffee for us, I--”

“I already started one.”

“Mm!” Twilight’s jaw snapped shut. Time could see more of the whites of his eyes than usual. “How about we get started on some breakfast, then! Mind helping me in the kitchen?”

“Twilight, move.” 

“Wait, don--”

But Time set a firm hand on his shoulder, pushing him and Four aside together as he reached for the doorknob.

“My goddess!” Warriors burst through the door just as Time pulled it open, sending the older man stumbling backward and Twilight and Four onto the floor. Warriors slammed the door shut, a pained expression on his face. He looked positively  _ green _ . “Save yourself, Old Man. This isn’t a sight for genteel men like us.”

Time frowned. “What is going on out there?”

“My good friend can’t hold his drink is what.” Warriors gestured to the living room where Sky lay facedown on the chaise lounge, looking somewhat more disheveled than usual. “We were having some midnight revelry - surprised we didn’t wake you, if I’m honest - and Sky here forgot his limits. He left an unsavory variety of bodily fluids on the porch that we were trying to clean up before you awoke.”

Time took a step back, glancing down to where Four sat shaking his head and Twilight avoided Time’s gaze with shame. “Is everyone alright, at least?”

Twilight’s gaze snapped up to meet his, and he watched a flash of remorse in the younger man’s eye. “Y-yeah. Some of the lawn furniture got damaged, but nobody was hurt.” 

Time pursed his lips, taking a second look at where Sky snored alone in the living room. “Well, you boys are old enough to take care of yourselves and clean up your own messes.” He turned back down the hallway toward the kitchen. “I expect it to be spotless when I get back tonight.”

As he left, the three boys heaved silent sighs of relief. 

Twilight joined Time in the kitchen and kept him busy with idle chatter. “Tonight’s the night, isn’t it?”

“Hm?” Time looked up from the toaster. 

“Your second date with Malon?”

“Ah.” Time smiled, returning his attention to his bagel. “Yes, we’ll be going to a quieter place this time on this side of town. I’ll probably meet her right after work. Try not to burn the place down in my absence.”

Twilight didn’t miss the way his face relaxed as he said her name, the slight crinkle at the corners of his eyes. It was a glimpse of the man Twilight remembered from his childhood: easygoing, pleasant, smitten. 

“She’s moving in a week, you know.”

Twilight spilled some of the coffee he had been pouring, setting down the pot with a  _ clack _ and glancing up warily as Time turned toward him. Time met his gaze, his expression still pleasant. “I owe you my gratitude,” he continued, shocking Twilight with the sincerity in his tone, “You and all of your friends. Without you, I wouldn’t have gotten to spend time with her before she left.”

Twilight was stunned silent, flinching only slightly as Time clapped a hand on his shoulder. His hand was warm and his grip firm. “Thank you, Twilight. I should have trusted you more from the beginning.”

Twilight swallowed, clutching his coffee mug between them awkwardly.

At 9:20, Time was out the door. 

Twilight slumped over the kitchen table as he left, his head hitting the wood with a dull thump.  _ She was still leaving _ . His fingertips drummed on his mug as he kept his head down, mind racing at miles per minute. Despite the terminal nature of their relationship, at least Time still seemed happy, grateful just to have this chance to mend their relationship before she left. The realization set a pang of something unpleasant in Twilight’s chest.

_ Just one more week. We can keep it quiet for one more week. _

After glancing out the front window to confirm that Time was gone, Twilight pulled open the door to the back porch. Laboring on their hands and knees in grim silence, the boys were busy cleaning up the carnage from last night: broken lawn furniture, uprooted shrubbery strewn across the yard, and most troubling of all, the red text spray-painted on the garage door, the porch, and wrapping around the side of the house:

_ When you’re the bad guy, JUST RUN - JUST RUN - JUST RUN - JUST... _

  
  


*****

Their unexpected outdoor morning chores made Twilight late for work. The co-op was as busy as ever, his checkout lane a never-ending stream of new faces and busy people. At least today, seeing a familiar face in his line was pleasant. 

“Heeey, check out the new guy!” Wild greeted him as he hefted an overfilled handbasket onto the belt.

“Wild, I thought you said you were making mac and cheese tonight.” 

“I am!”   
  


Twilight glanced at the variety of expensive bricks of cheese in the basket.  _ Apparently not the boxed kind _ . Wild set up at the far end of the register to bag as Twilight scanned. 

“Hey man,” Wild spoke in hushed tones, “This morning’s got me a little freaked out.” 

“I know, me too.” Twilight passed him a sympathetic look. 

“Man, we gotta tell him!”

“No way. We just have to keep things under wraps for one more week, and--”

“What if that’s a bad idea?” Wild’s tone was uncharacteristically serious, giving Twilight pause. 

“Wild, I know you haven’t known him very long, but this is the happiest the Old Man has been in years. I don’t really know what kind of shit he’s been through, but I think he deserves this time with Malon.” Twilight moved achingly slow as he scanned. “If we just keep it quiet to let him focus on fixing things--”

“What if that puts him at risk of getting hurt?” The look in Wild’s eyes was steely. “What if it puts  _ both of them _ at risk?” 

Twilight’s jaw snapped shut. He mechanically punched numbers into the register as Wild swiped his credit card. 

“I don’t want to put bad ideas in your head, Twi, but this looks sketchy, don’t you think? Maybe we should tell him when he gets home tonight.” Wild pocketed his wallet and reached for his receipt, an apology in his tone. “I agree that we have to look out for him, but that isn’t just making sure he gets to spend time with Malon. It’s also making sure he’s safe.” 

Twilight nodded hesitantly, gently bumping fists with a soft, “See you back home.” As Wild left, Twilight’s phone buzzed in his pocket.

_ Hyrule - 3:27pm _

hey twi, i wasnt going to send this originally but 

i think you might want to know

He’d attached a photo - a portion of Time’s medical record:

EMERGENCY VISIT - RECORD TRANSFER FROM ‘JOHN DOE 043065’

25-30yo male Hylian Wt: 175lb Ht: 5’11”

Intake: 23:17 via ambulance

Reason for visit: Unknown polytrauma

Diagnoses: Traumatic brain injury

Orbital fracture OD

Facial laceration - full thickness

Superficial skin abrasions - cervical, circumferential

Left glenohumeral subluxation

Multiple phalangeal lacerations - partial thickness

The list went on. 

Twilight swallowed thickly. He didn’t need to read much more than that. 

___

Dinner was a decadent four-cheese macaroni and cheese with chicken cutlets and roasted broccoli. The boys theorized and argued over dinner and dishes - with the exception of Wind, who became annoyed with the chatter eventually and went up to his room; and Hyrule, who no one had seen in a few days. 

“So he has a few newspaper articles saved, so what?” Legend was the one at the sink this time, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. “My uncle was obsessed those stupid investigations too, he probably has some of the same articles saved somewhere in his house.”

“If he  _ was _ involved in some way,” Wild contended as he scrubbed burned cheese off of the stove grates, “That sounds like an easy way to make some enemies.”

Legend rolled his eyes. “I think those kinds of enemies are going to do more than leave nasty notes and vandalize the yard.”

“Well, I got all the way to the back of his closet and I couldn’t find that amazing wedding suit,” Warriors sighed as he reentered the kitchen, “But I did find this hideous thing.” He held up a dark grey vest with velcro straps at the shoulders. “What in Din’s name is this for? Camping?”

“Wars, that’s a _Kevlar_ _vest_.” Four hefted the thick hem to inspect the lining. “Where did you find this?”

Five boys traipsed into Time’s bedroom carefully, arms tight against their torsos to avoid bumping anything out of place. The furniture was an austere deep rosewood, the bed a luxurious king-sized with a soft green duvet that matched the drapes tightly drawn over his windows. The surfaces in the bedroom were devoid of any photos, mementos, or clutter of any kind. 

“This is bigger than my bedroom,” Legend muttered as they entered Time’s expansive closet. 

“Maybe your bedroom would be bigger if you didn’t fill it with so much shit, hoarder.”

“Man, the Old Man has the weirdest taste!” Wild marveled at a pair of gossamer Gerudo harem pants.

“So he has all these clothes,” Four tugged on what looked like a royal guard uniform in rich navy and maroon, “And yet he wears the same droll outfit every day.”

“The Old Man’s clothes are a bit odd.” After zipping the vest into what looked like a nondescript garment bag, Warriors turned up the hem of the navy cable knit sweater he’d “borrowed’ for the day, tugging on a discrete tag on the inside. The gold embroidery on the small square resembled a geometric approximation of a bird. “Not all, but many of them are bespoke with this funny little crest.” 

“So that explains why you look like a homeless twink in them.” The quip earned Four a smack on the arm.

The boys spent several minutes rifling through Time’s wardrobe, poking fun at some of the more outlandish costumes, but Twilight couldn’t bring himself to join in. He’d been trapped in his own head since that afternoon, mulling over the text Hyrule had sent him. He hadn’t shared it with the group - it just didn’t feel right - but it hadn’t left his mind, either. When they returned to the downstairs living room, Twilight sat on the couch between Wild and a snoring Sky, his chin in his hands as he poked idly at his phone.

He found himself flipping between the photos of the articles, the divorce settlement, and the medical record Hyrule had sent to him. The divorce fell between the dates of the two articles, which could just be coincidental, but Twilight had a nagging feeling that he was missing something. 

As much as it turned his stomach, Twilight flipped back to the photo of the medical record. He didn’t necessarily understand all of the jargon on the diagnosis list, but it still left too little to the imagination. 

Legend’s phone chirped in his pocket, and he frowned at the screen. “Goddess, my phone is blowing up tonight, but it’s all just crank calls…”

“Did Wind doxx you?” Warriors chuckled.

Twilight flipped back and forth between the four photos, arranging them in date order: first, Ghot’s disappearance; months later, the signed divorce settlement; then, in a matter of weeks, the article on Major’s murder; finally, the medical record, dated several days after the murder. Twilight chewed on his lower lip.  _ There’s no way these aren’t connected. _

A heavy knock at the door derailed Twilight’s train of thought. Warriors rolled his eyes. “Old Man forgot his keys, must be getting senile.” 

“Lovesickness does funny things to the brain.” Four stood to answer, but Twilight held up his hand.

“He wouldn’t forget his keys.”

_ Something felt off _ .

Twilight glanced at where Legend leaned forward in his armchair, staring down the hallway. 

_ He felt it too. _

Warriors’s phone chirped, ceasing his frenetic texting. “Telemarketer at this hour?” He scoffed, declining the call.

The knock sounded again, more impatient this time. 

Twilight stood and silently crossed the room, turning down the dimmer switch in the living room, bathing the entire first floor in darkness. Followed by the other boys, he peered down the hallway. The crown glass sidelights flanking the front door made it only possible to see shapes beyond the door, not identify who was there. Twilight couldn’t make out much other than the fact that the figure beyond the door was hulking, and was definitely taller than Time. 

Behind him, Four startled, pulling his vibrating phone out of his pocket. He frowned at the screen. “Hell of a time for a robo-call,” he muttered as he declined it. 

Twilight felt a tug at the hem of his shirt as Wild whispered, “Who is it?”

Less of a knock, now more of a pound, the sound rattled the door on its hinges. It was so loud that Sky stirred on the couch, snorting as he jumped up, looking around in a daze. “Hey guys, what’s goin--”

“ _ Shhh!! _ ” Warriors and Four hushed him.

“Hey,” Legend whispered as he sidled up next to Twilight, “Go see who it is.” 

“What!? Why me?”

“He’s  _ your _ relative.” Twilight frowned at Legend and looked to the others for backup, but they all silently urged him forward. 

Creeping out into the hallway, Twilight could hear his pulse in his ears. The pounding at the door persisted, rattling his frayed nerves. Halfway down the hall, he jumped at the sensation of his phone buzzing in his pocket. He fished it out of his jeans and stared at the lock screen: 

_ No Name. _

Now it was banging, violent and angry. 

Ice settled in Twilight’s gut as he stared at the screen for a moment longer before declining the call. Seconds later, a burst of song echoed in the empty kitchen where Wild had left his phone on the counter. His ringer couldn’t  _ possibly _ be any louder. 

With the sharp sound of shattering glass, their impatient visitor reached in to undo the heavy lock and let themselves in. The door swung open, banging into the wall as not one but three masked figures stood silhouetted in the streetlight, each of them at least half a foot taller than Twilight. 

He didn’t need to see their faces to know their malicious intent. 

Twilight turned tail to run back toward his friends, but before he got far he was caught by the collar and slammed into the wall. Twilight heard the sounds of Wild and Legend hitting the floor in the hallway before they scrambled past in the opposite direction, one of the intruders in pursuit as they fled into the kitchen. With a strangled yelp, Four was roughly body-checked into the opposite wall of the hallway, smacking his head hard and slumping to the floor. Sky and Warriors tackled the offending intruder, sending them not just into but  _ through _ the basement door, the three of them tumbling down the narrow staircase together.

Wild and Legend dove behind the long kitchen island, Legend grabbing ahold of the knife block as he did. They popped up over the countertop to begin throwing whatever they could grab at their assailant: knives, salt and pepper shakers, the napkin holder. When the counter was cleared off they began frantically pulling open cupboards, tossing poorly-aimed ceramic bowls, heavy mugs, and plates. Their aim wasn’t brilliant but they were successful in keeping their pursuer stalled near the door for a time, at least until they began running out of ammunition. 

The intruder was quick to take advantage of a momentary pause in the onslaught, leaping over the counter toward them. Wild instinctively dove to cover Legend and was slammed bodily into the opposite counter. He shouted as his face was shoved roughly into the stovetop grates. Without hesitation, the intruder reached to turn on the gas burner. 

The basement was pitch black, darker than it had been on the first floor. Sky and Warriors stumbled in the dark, groping along the walls for a light switch, following the sounds of scuffling and shouts as they blindly lashed out at their attacker. Sky felt the bite of a knife along his forearm, tearing open his sleeve. Warriors felt a heavy fist connect with his jaw that he was  _ certain _ belonged to Sky and he reeled, stumbling backward into a pile of old boxes and crates. Something cracked beneath him as he landed. 

Warriors yanked his phone out of his pocket and fumbled for the flashlight, scrambling to get his bearings. As his phone lit up, he found that he’d broken the rusted lock on one of Time’s ancient chests, revealing a variety of ornate glittering knives and short swords.  _ Bless the Old Man’s exotic tastes, _ Warriors thought, taking hold of a jewel-encrusted hilt of Gerudo make.

In the first floor hallway, Twilight struggled in the iron grip of his attacker. The man’s one-handed grip around his throat held him several inches off of the floor. “The homeowner apparently hasn’t been paying attention to our messages,” the man rasped, leaning in so closely that Twilight could see the whites of his smiling eyes through his mask, “So we’re here to drop a more direct sort of hint.” Twilight’s shoes scrambled for purchase on the wall behind him as he clawed at the man’s forearm. The sounds of his friends shouting and struggling sounded farther and farther away. He saw stars at the edge of his vision as the world began to blur. 

When the man’s grip finally relented, Twilight crumpled to the floor, coughing harshly. He looked up to see that Wind had landed on the man’s back and looped a drapery cord around his neck. The intruder was so tall that Wind’s feet wouldn’t reach the floor, giving him very little leverage. He held onto the cord like reins and pulled on it with all of his weight, a fluent stream of curses tumbling out of his mouth as he rode the struggling man around the hallway. The man stumbled backward, slamming Wind into the ornate balustrade, causing his grip to falter. He slammed Wind again and again, crushing him against it with brutal strength until the heavy wood cracked and the pair tumbled backward onto the staircase. 

Twilight surged to his feet, reaching to pull the burly man off of his cousin, but as he did the flash of a blade in the streetlight caught his eye. He startled backward, tripping over a part of the ruined bannister and losing his balance. 

“Twilight!!”

Twilight fell onto his back, the intruder coming down on top of him with a knife aimed for his face. Twilight braced his hands against the man’s forearms, halting the tip of his blade mere inches from his face. Twilight’s muscles held the memory of being a strong farm boy - baling hay, trimming hooves, assisting with calving - but city life had sapped him of some of his strength. The knife came down, unbearably slow, its tip touching his forehead and breaking the skin. 

Twilight grit his teeth against the sensation of the blade leaving a hot, wet trail curving between his brows and down the bridge of his nose. He didn’t cry out; he wouldn’t give this creep the satisfaction. Blood trickled across his forehead, his cheeks, and into his eyes. He shut them tightly against the burning sensation, a strangled sound getting caught in his throat as his arms began to shake. 

And then, just as abruptly as he had been pinned, the intruder was gone, sailing off of him with a grunt. Twilight sat up, quickly wiping the blood from his eyes.

Time stood over him, brandishing the bloodied remains of a broken baluster in one hand. 

His fury was  _ palpable _ . 

Time stalked down the hallway with the silent confidence of a predator. He followed the sounds of shouting and struggle into the kitchen, vanishing through the doorway. Voices picked up - Twilight couldn’t tell whose they were - and the sound of breaking glass and a heavy struggle followed. Wind had dragged himself down the staircase and Twilight watched silent commentary cross his face: hope, terror, and - as the air was pierced by a deafening shriek - sick fascination. Seconds later, one of the intruders scrambled out of the kitchen and made for the front door, clutching a badly-burned arm. 

The sound of Sky and Warriors shouting echoed up the basement steps as their attacker appeared in the doorway, nursing a nasty slice across the shoulder. They glanced from their comrade slumped in the middle of the hallway to where Time emerged from the kitchen, looking only slightly ruffled from the violent interlude but incandescent in his rage. The intruder moved with freakish speed, and Twilight saw the glint of a blade in the dim light. 

“ _ Look out!! _ ”

He wasn’t fast enough. The knife cut a long slash down Time’s torso from ribs to navel, but his face never registered the pain. The backhand swing of his bludgeon missed the intruder by centimeters, and the kitchen door frame cracked on impact. Apparently deciding to cut their losses, the intruder vaulted backward through the open front door, vanishing down the street.

Time calmly closed and locked the door behind him, and the hairs on the back of Twilight’s neck stood on end. As the older man turned, Twilight could see that his neat oxford sported a clean slash along the middle, revealing thick gray material beneath.  _ So that’s why he always looked so bulky _ . Apparently, Kevlar vests were a part of his everyday look.

Groaning, Twilight’s assailant made to get back up, but Time was on him before he could get his bearings. He picked up the discarded drapery cord and swiftly doubled it around the man’s neck, setting his knee between his shoulder blades and bending his spine backward at an uncomfortable angle. He reached down to tear off the mask and toss it aside, leveling his head next to the man’s ear.

Time’s voice was the stillness at the eye of a hurricane. “Who sent you?”

The attacker gasped and croaked as he clawed at the strangling garrote. 

“...F-f-fi-...-rce… Dei-... -ty…”

The air pressure in the room seemed to drop. Time’s expression never faltered, even as his fist began to shake, even as he reached for the discarded baluster. 

It was difficult to see in the dim street light filtering in through the broken window, but everyone could plainly hear the heavy, wet sounds of splintered wood repeatedly connecting with flesh. Twilight crawled further and further back down the hallway until he bumped into Wind, putting himself between his younger cousin and the gruesome scene, even though Wind craned his neck to continue watching. On the other side of the hallway, Sky was frozen where he knelt tending to Four, who was still out cold. Warriors stood just ahead of them, one hand clamped firmly over his mouth. Twilight shared a terrified glance with Legend who peered out the kitchen door, his face pale and spattered with blood. Just behind him, Wild lay on the floor, moaning and clutching the left side of his face.

Time didn’t relent until the intruder was silent and still. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hyrule works another unexpected overnight shift, Twilight starts working out again, and Time tells a bedtime story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every chapter reads like its from a different story, and I'm just gonna own it. It was hard to inject levity into this chapter, but in the final chapter it will be a bit easier, believe it or not.
> 
> Let's talk TW's: blood/wounds, minor medical procedures, needles, canon-typical violence.

Hyrule was running on four hours of sleep, 760 milligrams of caffeine, an apple and a protein bar eaten six hours ago, and it had been eight minutes since his last sip of coffee. His clinical year was somewhat of a blur, and he was fairly certain his sporadic arrhythmia was non-fatal - at least it had been so far. Despite the physical and mental torment, this emergency rotation was his favorite, and he had therefore developed some rapport with his ES attending. 

Which was lucky, because he really needed their help right now. 

Sprinting down the empty hallway of the administrative wing, Hyrule was relieved to see the office light still on. He gripped the office door sill and skidded to a stop, accidentally pulling down the nametag on the wall as he did. 

The stoic doctor at the desk glanced up from his paperwork. 

“Dr. Renado,” Hyrule panted, “I need your help.” 

“Hyrule, I’m sorry, I’m not on clinics this week. You should call--”

“There…” Hyrule shut his eyes tightly as he struggled to remember the words Time had barked at him in the hallway. “‘There is no medicine that can cure a’… Cure a fool?”

The heavy silence that followed his words made Hyrule feel actual, legitimate fear for the first time since before his medicine rotation. Dr. Renado set his reading glasses down on the desk as he rose. “Take me to him.”

The patient wards on the fourth floor of the main hospital were under renovation. Ladders and toolboxes cluttered the main hallway and most of the linoleum flooring was pulled up. Plastic sheets hung in doorways to minimize dust contamination. Time paced silently outside one of the curtained wards, pausing as familiar faces came into view. He gripped Dr. Renado’s forearm firmly in greeting. “I’m sorry to come to you out of the blue like this.” 

The doctor pulled back the sheet and glanced into the dimly-lit ward where seven young men were draped over hospital beds in varying states of injury. “I’m used to you working alone.” 

“Yes, well that makes two of us.” Time stayed out of view of the doorway. “Please take care of them. I’ll send someone to collect them first thing in the morning.” 

“You have my word.” 

Time walked swiftly down the hallway as Dr. Renado and Hyrule entered the ward. “I trust you’ve already performed triage?” Hyrule nodded grimly, leading his attending to where Wild lay shivering. 

A lot of Hyrule’s emergency medicine rotation was about learning how to compartmentalize. His caffeine-fueled haze made it easier to deal with traumatic experiences in the moment, but he still felt them leave indelible prints in his mind. He knew the acrid smell of Wild’s burned hair and skin would make him wretch while he was charting later. He knew the feeling of Four’s shoulder shivering as he vomited into a plastic tub would echo in his fingertips as he drummed them on the desk. He knew that the sticky sound of Twilight peeling the blood-soaked rag off of his face would replay in his mind as he sat on the floor in an empty hallway, staring into the fluorescent lights above him. 

Hyrule knew he’d need to deal with all of this at some point, but right now he couldn’t. Right now, he had to don a mask of confidence and professionalism because if he couldn’t keep his shit together, no one else would either.

Hyrule politely ignored the tears that welled in Twilight’s eyes as he injected lidocaine beneath the skin surrounding his laceration. Whether they were caused by the sting of the anesthetic or the wounded sound that Wild made from the next bed over, he wasn’t sure. “So, was it a party, or…?”

Twilight huffed, avoiding eye contact. “Somebody broke in and kicked the shit out of us.” 

“Who?”

“Three guys wearing masks. They didn’t say who they were, but I’m sure they were the ones who were leaving weird notes and spray painting the house.” Twilight grimaced. “I have a feeling it’s somehow connected to what you sent me earlier.” 

Hyrule hummed an affirmative sound as he dabbed Twilight’s forehead with antiseptic. “I’ve never seen the Old Man so angry.” 

“ _Dude_ .” The other side of Twilight’s bed dipped as Legend sat on it, leaning in close to whisper, “ _He fucking beat some guy to death._ ”

Hyrule paused, glancing at Legend with skepticism. 

Twilight closed his eyes. “Honest to Hylia, ‘Rule.” 

The bed was jostled as Warriors thumped down on it roughly. Hyrule cursed and Twilight felt a pinch near his eyebrow. “I didn’t think the Old Man would make good on his threats to murder us at the restaurant, but now I’m not so sure.” 

“Wars, get over yourself.”

Another miserable sound escaped Wild from across the room, causing all four boys to fall into grim silence.

Twenty-seven stitches later, Hyrule moved on to bandage Sky’s superficial forearm laceration, then to disinfect Legend’s scrapes and puncture wounds, then to take the ice off of Warriors’s black eye to check his retinas. Despite their exhaustion, none of the boys slept - not even Sky, who sat on Wind’s bed with him making quiet conversation. Once Twilight’s face stopped bleeding, Four’s concussion was ruled minor, Wind confirmed to not have any rib fractures, and the other boys’ scrapes and bruises deemed fit for outpatient treatment, Dr. Renado stepped out of the room to make a phone call. 

As Hyrule washed his tools in the sink, he watched Twilight approach Wild’s bedside. Wild was out cold, enjoying his opioids, and his burns had been dressed. Hyrule could see the unfamiliar emotions that churned in Twilight’s gut, could see his fists clenching at his sides, and Hyrule floundered for a moment, not sure exactly what should be said or what he should do. 

“Alright boys,” Dr. Renado announced as he reentered the ward, “Your transport is waiting for you downstairs. This young man,” he gestured to Wild’s bed, “Will be staying with us for a few days, but the rest of you are being discharged.” 

“Where will he be staying?” Twilight’s question came out more panicked than he likely wanted it to. 

“He will be under the care of my research assistant, Dr. Mipha Grace.” From behind Dr. Renado stepped a petite Zora girl who clasped her hands in front of her and politely nodded to the group. “I can’t say where. I’m sure you understand.”

The other boys began shuffling out of the ward at Dr. Renado’s direction, but Twilight lingered by Wild’s bedside. Mipha stepped forward to set her hand on Twilight’s arm. “He’ll be fine. We’ll take the best care of him.” She spoke with a voice as soft as a gentle stream, and Hyrule watched the hard line of Twilight’s jaw relax somewhat. Hyrule wasn’t sure what her specialty might be, but he could already tell that Mipha’s bedside manner was top-notch.

“He was lucky, you know,” she continued, and Twilight looked at her like she must be insane. “You’re all lucky.”

“How so?”

“You’re lucky to have each other.” 

The sky was becoming gray with the promise of sunrise as Dr. Renado and Hyrule led the group to a side entrance of the administrative wing of the hospital. A black SUV idled just outside the door, a stoic Sheikah driver behind the wheel. The boys piled in silently, shell-shocked and exhausted. 

“Well then, doctor,” Renado addressed Hyrule with a smile as he turned back toward the building, “I’m not sure what your plans are next year, but would you be at all interested in a research fellowship?”

___

As they pulled up in front of the townhouse, Twilight was the only one in the car who was still conscious. He was surprised at how orderly the house looked from outside. The glass sidelights had already been replaced, still ornamental but now _very_ reinforced, and there was no sign of broken glass or blood on the stoop. 

“Does anyone have their keys?” The boys responded with various grunts and gestures in the negative. Twilight trudged up the steps at the head of the group, reaching to grab hold of the knocker. 

Before he could grasp it, the door creaked open only a few inches. The boys startled as the stony face of a hulking Goron peered down at them. 

“Yes?”

“Uhh… Hi.” Twilight took a tentative step back, opening his arms to keep the others behind him. “We, uh, live here?”

“Mmm.” The Goron regarded him thoughtfully, then counted his companions with his eyes. A stiff moment passed before he stood back, opening the door to let them pass. “Welcome back.” 

Twilight had steeled himself to walk into a scene that would catapult him immediately back to the trauma of several hours prior. Perhaps more jarring was how quickly the place was returning to normal. There was no sign of broken glass or dishware on the floor. The fractured balustrade had been completely removed from the first floor staircase, and the hallway carpet had already been torn out. A Hylian carpenter measured the height of the kitchen door frame, while a second carpenter was fitting the basement door back on its hinges.

From the kitchen, Twilight could hear frantic hushed arguing. 

“--can’t believe they’d be so brazen, Darunia.” Time rapidly paced the length of the kitchen island, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. He kept repeatedly glancing up at the kitchen clock, and he clearly hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. “They’ve never showed up here before. Why now?”

“It was only a matter of time,” rumbled a voice as thick as a mountainside. The kitchen table was tiny by Hylian standards, but it was positively dwarfed by the Goron chieftain. Darunia set down his empty teacup. “You knew this day was coming.” 

“Yes, but I was out, I was vulnerable--”

“And it wasn’t you they were after.” 

Time stopped his agitated pacing when he noticed Twilight and the other boys standing in the hallway. Twilight watched a variety of emotions pass in front of Time’s gaze - relief, concern, anger, remorse - but he said nothing. Darunia glanced from Time to Twilight and back again, clearing his throat softly as he stood. “You have much to attend to, Brother. Please call on me when things are ready.”

“Thank you.” Time clasped Darunia’s massive right hand as they thumped each other on the shoulders with their left. Twilight could hear the way the impact resonated through Time’s chest, but he didn’t flinch. The boys backed out of the doorway to allow Darunia to pass, and the chieftain’s eyes lingered on them as he did. 

“Wear it proudly,” he rumbled, gesturing to Twilight’s face, “Not many who bear their scars live to tell the tale.” 

Twilight stared after Darunia as the door closed behind him. 

“You all must be exhausted.” Time appraised the group as he joined them in the hallway, although he avoided eye contact. “Go upstairs and get some rest. Lock the doors, stay away from the windows, leave the lights off, and stay inside. This place is a fortress, but I can’t guarantee you’ll be safe if you leave it.”

___

  
  


The next several days seemed to crawl by. Time was back to his reticent self, sparing few pleasantries and being physically and emotionally unavailable. The boys spent most of their time in their bedrooms, generally avoiding the first floor, and not just because of bad memories. The rotating cast of Goron guards stationed by the front door kept eyes on them around the clock. 

When they did venture downstairs, especially into the kitchen, they tended to do so in a group. Legend would linger near the tiny table while the others foraged in the refrigerator or rifled through the cabinets. They mainly stuck to making sandwiches or microwaving food. No one was interested in using the stove, even if it had been replaced.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but you’ll have to come back later.” 

Sitting at the kitchen table, Legend was closest to the hallway. He narrowed his eyes as he heard the Goron guard addressing someone at the door. 

“But he told me to come by at this time, I don’t understand--”

“Guys!” Legend whisper-shouted to the group, ducking toward the kitchen door to peek out into the hallway. “It’s her!!”

“Ma’am,” the Goron rumbled calmly beneath Malon’s fiery gaze, “I am under strict orders to not let anyone in--”

“Hey Malon!” Twilight pressed himself into the guard’s arm to try and push him aside, but he only succeeded in squishing himself against the Goron’s stony body, wedging himself into a very small area of the doorway. “What a nice surprise! You should come in!!”

“Yes!!” Legend lent a helping pair of hands to try and push the Goron out of the way, but the two of them together couldn’t make him budge. “I’m sure the Old Man is _very interested_ to see you!”

The Goron glared down at the two tiny Hylians - now three, with Four shoving against his hip - and back to the woman on the stoop who regarded all of them cautiously. 

“Twilight, honey, what in Farore’s name happened to your fa--”

“Thank you, Brother!” Time spoke a little too loudly as he slapped the Goron guard on his shoulder. The guard stepped aside immediately, causing Twilight, Legend, and Four to tumble to the floor. “I forgot to tell you I was waiting for someone.” 

Time helped the boys to their feet and they cleared the path for Malon to enter. Twilight didn’t miss the extra teeth he saw in Time’s smile. 

_He was freaking out_.

“You didn’t answer my calls this morning. Did you forget about our lunch date?”

“How could I?” Time set his arm across her shoulders, guiding her into the kitchen. “I thought it might be more cozy for us to have lunch here is all.” 

Warriors, who had been the one to retrieve Time from the third floor, breezed past the others and into the kitchen, motioning for them to follow. The boys already had some things pulled out onto the counter to make lunch, but peanut butter and jelly was hardly acceptable for a date. Twilight and Warriors walked stiffly to the refrigerator and pulled open the double doors. _Leftover pizza, cold cuts, a moldy brick of cheese…_ Their supply paled in comparison to when Wild was stocking the refrigerator. Determined, Twilight started yanking vegetables out of the crisper and piling them into War’s arms. They set up along the island, Twilight washing lettuce and picking out the wilted bits, Four and Legend getting to work chopping up vegetables, Warriors struggling to locate matching sets of dishes. 

Time approached the island, eyeing them uncertainly while they worked. Warriors shoved two water glasses into his hands, motioning for him to have a seat at the table. 

“My my, they’re so helpful,” Malon smiled as Time sat across from her. 

“Yes, well,” Time glanced furtively at the clock before returning her smile, “I can’t say I deserve it, but they’ve been looking out for me.”

“I see you’ve done some remodeling. New kitchen cabinets?” 

“Well, we had a little cooking incident that singed some of the cabinet doors. You know how boys are.” 

Legend set his knife down on the counter with a _clack_ , swiftly making for the door. The other boys shared a glance and Four nodded, wordlessly moving to accompany Legend up the stairs. Time clenched his jaw as he followed the boys with his eye.

“I’m so sorry,” Time pushed back from the table with an apologetic smile, “I forgot something upstairs, will you excuse me for just a moment?” 

Twilight and Warriors finished putting together two modest salads on mismatched plates. While Warriors got started on sandwiches, Twilight delivered their salads to the table. 

“Seriously, Twilight, what happened to your face?” Malon was on her feet and cupping his cheeks in her hands as she inspected the stitches trailing down the bridge of his nose. 

“I’m fine.” Her caring touch was cool on his burning cheeks. “City living is a bit more dangerous than I anticipated.”

Warriors stared at him from across the kitchen. _That’s an understatement._

“You have to be careful, some parts of the city can be dangerous. Poor dear.” Malon patted his cheek before sitting back down, tucking her napkin across her lap. “Well, I hope you are still getting to have some fun living in Termina. Don’t let one bad experience turn you off.” 

“Oh, we’re having _lots_ of fun.” Warriors decided that Twilight was doing a piss-poor job at entertaining. He delivered condiments and dressing to the table, smiling handsomely down at Malon. “And when we’re stuck inside, we manage to keep ourselves entertained. You should have seen the rager we threw a few nights ago.” 

It was Twilight’s turn to stare as he piled lettuce and cold cuts onto slightly stale bread. 

“Oh? Link isn’t much for parties from what I remember.” 

“Oh no,” Warriors laughed, “He was pretty angry when he got home. You should have seen his face, I think he could have beaten us to death!” Twilight slipped as he was cutting the tomato, cursing and sucking the blood off of his thumb. “My good friend Twilight here didn’t know his limits and made quite a mess of the hallway carpet, thus the abrupt change in decor.”

“Mmm,” Malon’s tone didn’t match her polite smile, “And does that also explain the Goron at the front door?”

Twilight was fairly certain no one had ever caused Warriors to shut up before. 

“Sorry about that,” Time apologized as he reentered the kitchen, swiftly settling back into his chair. “Ah, thank you boys, this looks delicious.” 

The pair tucked into their salads as Warriors returned to the island looking somewhat uncomfortable. “By the way,” Malon casually commented, “I’m surprised you replaced the hallway carpet.”

“Yes, I thought the green was getting a little stale. Red really livens up the place, don’t you think?”

Twilight saw the subtle twitch in her eyes and knew _immediately_ that Time had said the wrong thing. 

Twilight and Warriors made quick work of finishing up their sandwiches, leaving them on the counter before slipping out the door. As they entered the hallway, Twilight heard Malon’s not-so-quiet whisper, “By the way, what happened to Twilight?”

Twilight’s heart hit the bottom of his shoes. 

He and Warriors ducked into the living room, pressing themselves against the door frame and waiting tensely. “ _He looked like he’d seen a ghost when I told him she was at the door_ ,” Warriors whispered. Twilight could have set his watch to the time it took to hear the scrape of chair legs along the kitchen floor. Malon’s face was stormy as she reentered the hallway, heading for the front door. 

Time reached for her arm. “Darling, wait--”

“Don’t you ‘ _darling_ ’ me!” She wheeled on him and poked her finger accusingly into his chest, Time wincing with each angry little stab. “I was a fool to think even for a second that you’d changed! It takes forever to get you to open up and when you do, you’re still lying or telling half-truths about stupid things! How am I supposed to trust you!?”

Time looked helpless, his mouth opening, closing, opening again. Words just wouldn’t come.

“Don’t bother.” Malon huffed, shaking her head as she made for the door. 

Not knowing exactly what to do, the Goron opened the front door to allow her to pass. Twilight and Warriors surged into the hallway without a plan, rushing toward the door to stop her, but they didn’t need to. Time caught up to her before she descended the stoop.

“Wait.” He laid his hand on her shoulder and the house held its breath. “Malon, please, I… I can’t tell you everything, not right now. There isn’t enough time for that.” He reached down to take her hand and she stiffly accepted the placating gesture. “But if you can be patient, and give me a chance, I--... I promise I’ll tell you everything.” 

Twilight couldn’t see Malon’s face from his angle in the hallway. What he could see was the way Time’s heart broke as she silently turned and descended the steps.

___

  
  


Despite his exhaustion, Twilight barely slept. He lay in bed in the middle of the afternoon, struggling to nap. Each time his eyes drifted closed, unpleasant thoughts would begin to filter in - the shouts and cries of his friends, the stench of burning hair, the jarring shock when they had actually turned the lights on in the hallway. Twilight huffed, scrubbing at his eyes, wincing as the motion pulled at the stitches between his brows. The swelling had mercifully stopped, but the pain was nearly constant. 

Twilight rolled over and reached for his phone on the bedside table. 

_Twilight - 11:10am_

Hey Wild, how are you feeling? 

_11:35am_

You awake?

_12:21pm_

If you don’t get that Zora girl’s number while you’re there, man, I will. 

_2:01pm_

When you get this, call me. 

Twilight sighed, rolling onto his back with arms outstretched. On the floor above him, he could hear the soft creak of floorboards as Time moved about in his bedroom. The Old Man’s schedule had been off for the past several days; he was leaving later in the morning, coming back midday to check in, getting home a little bit before 5pm. Twilight hadn’t seen him much, only in passing, and even then they exchanged few words. 

Twilight sat up on the edge of his bed and reached for the heavy bookend he’d pilfered from the living room to use as a dumbbell. He fixed his tired gaze on the floor as he started another set of bicep curls.

After several minutes of zoning out, Twilight’s phone buzzed on the bedside table, and he dove to answer. It wasn’t from Wild; it was a message to their group chat:

_Warriors - 2:15pm_

The Owl has left the nest

_Four - 2:15pm_

can confirm

_Legend - 2:15pm_

Lets go.

Twilight strained his ears to hear the soft creaks of opening doors down the hallway. He peered out his own door to see Warriors and Four creeping down the hallway to meet up with Legend who stood at the bottom of the stairs up to the third floor. Legend craned his neck to peek down at the first floor - trying to get a bead on the Goron guard, no doubt - and when the coast was clear, he waved the others forward. 

Twilight stepped out into the hallway, purposely scuffing his heel along the carpet to alert them to his presence. They jumped, but realizing it was him, Four and Legend glared at Warriors who threw up his hands. Legend rolled his eyes, motioning for Twilight to pay attention as he started up the staircase.

Twilight tilted his head to watch as first Legend, then Four crept up the staircase in an odd pattern, moving from side to side at random intervals along the stairs as they ascended. It took a few seconds for Twilight to realize that he hadn’t heard their footsteps. He watched carefully as Warriors followed their pattern and recited it in his head as he watched: _left left right left, middle middle, right right middle left…_

When it was his turn, Twilight found that the carpet on the staircase was ever so subtly more worn in the places where they’d stepped. The pattern was easy for him to emulate since his stature was very similar to Time’s. Once on the third floor, he found them bickering at the top of the stairs. 

“--s the wrong group chat, you dipshit!” Legend hissed at Warriors. 

“Once again,” Four huffed, “Did you really think we were going to pull this off _without_ his help? Twilight,” he motioned toward the library door, “We’re doing some research. Care to join us?”

Twilight hesitated and Legend rolled his eyes. “ _See?_ We have a thin time limit here and I don’t want to spend half of it convincing Twilight to tag along.” 

“It’s not that,” Twilight grumbled, but before he could defend himself Four swung open the door to reveal that the library was already occupied. 

Wind jumped out of the chair at Time’s writing desk, moving to block their line of sight with a look of absolute terror on his face. Realizing that it wasn’t Time, though, he heaved a heavy sigh of relief. 

“Well well,” Legend smirked, “Looks like someone got started without us.” As they entered the study Wind backed off defensively, but Legend put up his hands. “No need to feel cornered. We’re all after the same thing, and more prying eyes will make it easier to see what he doesn’t want us to.” 

Wind’s shoulders relaxed a bit as he glanced at the other boys, finding that no one was ready to chase him out. On the contrary, Warriors had helped himself to the couch again, Four was busy examining panels near the bookcase for any inconsistencies, and Twilight was busy in his phone. 

“Find anything interesting yet?”

“Not yet.” Wind gestured to the desk where he had wedged two pieces of a bobby pin into the old drawer lock. “I’ve just been wrestling with this for the past fifteen minutes.”

“Oh,” Four grimaced as he approached, tugging on one of the pins to find it firmly wedged within the lock. “Well, this is a start,” he rummaged through one of his deep pants pockets to procure a thin metal hook, “But let me show you a better way.” 

Twilight groaned inwardly as Wind studied his first lesson on picking locks. 

While they worked on the locked drawer, Legend crept down the hall to Time’s bedroom with Twilight not far behind. The bedroom was slightly less neat than it had been during their last visit: the duvet was wrinkled on one side, like someone had been laying on top of it rather than beneath it, a discarded shirt was tossed over the armchair in the corner, and one of the bureau drawers was slightly ajar. Twilight started on one of the bedside tables, sliding open the drawer and peering inside.

Legend went directly to the bureau, digging around inside the open drawer. “I’m surprised you want to help,” he intoned, “You were pretty discouraging during our little chat the other day.”

“We’ve already been through the study practically top to bottom,” Twilight responded with an edge to his tone, gently shuffling the contents of the drawer. “I doubt there’s much more we can uncover in there.” 

“Mm.” Legend slid his hand to the bottom of a stack of folded slacks, groping along the bottom of the drawer. “That might be true, but that’s not what you were implying yesterday when you said to ‘just lay low to see what else happens.’”

Twilight’s pause was nearly imperceptible, but Legend didn’t miss it. 

“And you insisted that there isn’t much to find by going through his bedroom,” Legend pressed him, “Yet here we are.” 

The bedside drawer snapped shut. Legend could feel the threat of a snarl, and still he taunted the wolf. 

“What are you trying to help him hide, Twi?”

Tension coiled in Twilight’s shoulders, and Legend heard the creak of the dam before it burst. He braced himself for the flood that never came.

“So we got the drawer open,” Four interrupted as he poked his head into the bedroom, “But it’s pretty underwhelming.” 

Five boys crowded around the writing desk where Wind sat shuffling through a stack of papers. “Electric bill, motorcycle insurance, an ad for a credit card… This is bullshit! All that effort for a stack of junkmail?”

Twilight frowned at the pile that Wind had laid on the desk, reaching down to fan them out. _Not a single letter from Wind’s university_. 

“Can I help you?”

All five boys jumped to attention, turning stiffly to find Time standing in the doorway. Twilight winced as he met Time’s gaze, expecting the usual calm fury that chilled him to his core. Instead, he found something even more distressing:

_He looked exhausted_. 

“Were you planning on finally taking responsibility for some bills around here, or…?”

No one dared to make eye contact. 

“Well,” Time crossed the study to his couch, sitting down and leveling them each with a serious gaze, “I know why you boys are in here. I haven’t been very forthcoming with you, and even if I have my reasons for that, it’s not necessarily fair to you, especially considering…” Time’s gaze lingered on Twilight’s face, and there was that flash of remorse again. “But I would certainly prefer it if you wouldn’t rifle through my things.” 

Legend was the first to meet his gaze, his tone defiant. “We deserve to know what’s going on.” 

“I agree.” 

Warriors rolled his eyes. “Then what else are we supposed to do?”

“Why not just ask?”

The boys exchanged skeptical glances, and Time couldn’t help but smile. “Let’s make a deal. You’ll each get one open-ended question and I will tell you all that I reasonably can. In exchange, you will stop rifling through my things and prying into my personal life.”

Twilight folded his arms across his chest. _Too good to be true._ The boys fell silent as they considered what they needed to know. 

Wind was the first to speak up. “What do you do for a living?”

“I’m retired.” 

The group huffed in exasperation. Legend snipped, “If you’re not going to take this seriously--”

“I am taking it seriously.” Time’s little self-satisfied smile was back. “It’s up to you to ask good questions.” 

Wind frowned, and Twilight could tell that he was biting his tongue against some choice words. Four cleared his throat. “What did you do for a living before retirement?”

“Private investigator.” His matter-of-fact delivery startled the group. “I was hired by wealthy individuals or political entities to track people for any number of reasons and gather information for them, among other things.” 

“Is it a family business?” Wind was practically salivating.

Time scowled at him reprovingly. “Absolutely not.”

Legend and Warriors shared a glance. Twilight kept his eyes trained on Time’s face, waiting. 

Time raised his brows. _Next question._

Legend sat on the floor with a huff, considering his words carefully. “Is that h-- No... Who is Fierce Deity?”

“He and I used to work very closely together. I couldn’t have done that kind of work alone,” Time held Legend’s gaze without wavering, “But I chose to ask for help from the wrong person. Our working relationship started out fine, but over time his work became... sloppy. He started becoming needlessly violent.” Time’s gaze darkened as he clenched his jaw. “He thought it was _fun_. He took too many risks, putting the lives of those around him in danger, and so I had to sever our working relationship.”

“And now he, what, wants to work with you again?”

Time’s gaze was stern. “I will tell you all that I reasonably can.” 

The other boys had moved away from the ransacked writing desk and took seats on the floor. Sitting in a semi-circle in front of the couch, Twilight felt like they were all gathered ‘round while Time read them a fairy tale to distract the children from more worldly worries. Twilight remained standing near the desk, arms folded across his chest.

“I have another question,” Wind tried. 

“You had your turn.” 

“Well, Wild isn’t here to get a turn. Can I ask a question for him?” 

Twilight watched Time’s nostrils flare as Wind twisted the knife. His eye was hard. “Just one.”

It was Wind’s turn to wear the self-satisfied smile. “Tell us about Majora.” 

Time sat back, holding Wind’s gaze. “I was hired to track Majora a few years ago. He was involved in organized crime throughout all districts of Termina and a suspect in several high-profile murders. It was my job to supply the evidence to convict him. He was dangerous, and very difficult to keep track of, hiding behind four smaller bosses. After several months, we were finally able to pin him down.” 

“And when you found him, you killed him?” Wind couldn’t resist.

Twilight watched Time’s jaw clench again. “Deity botched the mission.”

Warriors was next. “Why did you and Malon divorce?”

“I’m surprised you haven’t figured that out yet. When Deity became a liability, everything around him became more dangerous.” Twilight watched as Time ground his molars. “I was being followed. I had people leaving threatening messages, vandalizing the house, sending me photos of Malon while she was out running errands. I couldn’t--” Time turned his eyes away, and Twilight could tell how angry the thought made him by the way his lip curled. “I did what I had to do in order to keep her safe.” 

When it became clear that Time was finished answering, the group slowly turned their eyes toward Twilight. He ran his thumb along his lower lip as he pondered, regarding Time quietly. There were so many important things to ask: _Are the other bosses dead, too? Who were the men who broke in the other night? Why didn’t the police bother showing up?_ But perhaps the most important question of all:

“Why are you telling us this?”

Something softened Time’s tired gaze, something Twilight couldn’t place. 

“Because you’ll all be leaving here this afternoon, and you deserve to understand why.”

___

Twilight hadn’t been away from Ordon long enough for the place to hold any sentimental value. No, in fact there was a small amount of panic associated with returning home. _It felt like failure_. Twilight’s leg bounced as he leaned his head against the window in the back of the car Time had shoved him into, savoring the feeling of the cool glass against his aching brow. He glanced over at the silent Sheikah driver periodically, but the man seemed completely uninterested in him and spared no small talk. 

Twilight’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out to lazily glance down at it. Seeing Wild’s name on the group chat made him sit up with a start. 

_Wild - 5:52pm_

Hey sorry guys im up

Twilight felt eyes on him and looked up to see the driver’s eyes flick away from his in the rearview mirror. Twilight slouched back down into the seat, laying his phone on his leg but folding his arms across his chest as though he was trying to sleep.

_Legend - 5:53pm_

Hey man! How are you feeling??

_Warriors - 5:53pm_

Welcome back to the land of the living

_Four - 5:53pm_

wild!!!!!

_Sky - 5:54pm_

Youve been asleep this whole time?

Beats my record

_Wild - 5:54pm_

Haha yeah sorry guys

I’m feeling a lot better

Dr. Mipha says I can come home tomorrow

Twilight had typed his greeting but paused as he read Wild’s message, his shoulders slowly slumping.

_Warriors - 5:55pm_

The house is going to be a bit quiet, my friend

_Wild - 5:55pm_

Uh oh why??

_Four - 5:55pm_

the old man shipped us all away

_Wild - 5:55pm_

Huh???????

_Legend - 5:56pm_

He packed our bags and kicked us all out. 

We’re all headed to different “safehouses.” 

_Sky - 5:56pm_

I have no idea where Im headed

_Four - 5:57pm_

same

_Warriors - 5:57pm_

And my chauffeur is quite unpleasant

_Legend - 5:57pm_

But hey, if you do go back

Make sure he hasn't gone thru any of my stuff.

Twilight glanced out the window where freeway signs whizzed past. _Were the other guys being sent as far away as he was?_ When his phone buzzed again, it wasn’t the group chat this time. 

_Wind - 5:58pm_

hey since we cant do research at the house i did some googling 

i have smth u might be interested in

Twilight quirked a brow. The first response he typed was scathing, but he thought better of it.

_Twilight - 5:59pm_

What’s up?

_Wind - 5:59pm_

those bosses we read about in the articles

their still active

_Twilight - 5:59pm_

What do you mean?

Wind sent a link that Twilight hesitated to click - and not _only_ because he was on data right now. The page took a bit to load with all the video content. It was the official website of a band, the Indigo-Go’s.

_Wind - 6:00pm_

scroll 2 tha bottom

Twilight’s phone lagged _hard_ , but once he got there, he scanned the fine print at the bottom of the page: links to tour dates, joining the fanclub, a form to contact the band, and their management team - Great Bay Productions, a subsidiary of the Gyorg Group.

_Wind - 6:02pm_

Odolwa Holdings is a pharma company

GHOT is a defense contractor/weapons manufacturer

Twinmold is a little harder to dig up but might be into commercial building??

their all based in Termina

Twilight glanced up again to the driver who was now focused on the road. He flipped back to the group chat.

_Twilight - 6:02pm_

Does anyone know the band the Indigo-Go’s??

_Warriors - 6:02pm_

This is hardly the time to make music recommendations

_Wild - 6:03pm_

Yea their new album drops next month

Why??

_Twilight - 6:03pm_

They’re managed by something called the Gyorg Group

The chat went silent for several seconds before everyone started typing at once. 

_Wild - 6:03pm_

But the article said he vanished???

_Legend - 6:03pm_

Might not be the same person.

_Four - 6:03pm_

way too weird of a name to be coincidental

_Warriors - 6:03pm_

This makes sense

I’ve heard the Old Man sing in the shower

Its a crime against music theory

_Hyrule - 6:04pm_

guys plz take me off the group chat i am at work

Twilight felt the driver’s eyes on him, but he didn’t have time to care. 

_Twilight - 6:04pm_

Rule have you ever heard the name Odolwa??

_Hyrule - 6:05pm_

yea 

they make stuff like syringes and antibiotics

_Legend - 6:05pm_

... So it’s an active company. 

_Hyrule - 6:07pm_

in rounds sry

Twilight leaned his head back against the window, watching the exits roll past. So the four bosses that disappeared still had their names on large active companies, although that didn’t necessarily mean that _they_ were still around. An interesting bit of information, but it didn’t get them anywhere. 

_Sky - 6:08pm_

Wild dont you recognize that name

Gyorg Group

_Wild - 6:08pm_

Not rlly

_Sky - 6:08pm_

Thats the company putting on the Lunar Cycle

Twilight began chewing on the tip of his thumb.

_Legend - 6:10pm_

So, who wants to go to a concert?

_Wild - 6:10pm_

Its not a concert its an edm festival man

_Legend - 6:10pm_

Whatever.

___

Time’s morning routine was quiet.

Wake. 

Shower.

Dress.

Shoes.

Down the hallway, ignoring the door leading to Wind’s dark bedroom left slightly ajar.

Down the stairs, keeping his eyes on the carpet as he passed by the second floor hallway. 

He brewed a small pot of coffee and leaned his chin on his hands, silently watching the pot percolate. His folded newspaper sat forgotten off to the side. 

The coffee pot clicked to announce that breakfast was ready. 

He didn’t move.

He was alone. 

He hadn’t slept in three days.

This shouldn’t be new, though. He’d done this before. When his wife left. When Malon left him. Years ago, when she walked out their front door with a suitcase in hand and tears in her eyes. Just the other day, when she jabbed him in the chest with her finger and called him a liar.

He still didn’t move. 

When he chased her away. Like he chased Twilight and the rest of the boys away, packing their bags for them and shoving them into unmarked cars, a contingency plan he’d hoped he would never need. He forced himself to lie and shout and lose control in front of them. He’d spit venom and cruelty that he didn’t truly believe, arguing and forcing them out for their own good. 

His head hit the tabletop with a dull _thump_.

Because he _had to_. Because he needed to keep them safe. Because he had to keep them all safe from him, from his past full of stupid decisions and mistakes and shit luck and enemies that were a threat to those around him, to everyone he loved, to the woman he promised to devote his life to, even to eight harmless freeloaders who showed up in his home one colorful week and nosed into his private life and fed and fixed and laughed and filled his life with so much noise and activity and companionship and--

The ticking of the kitchen clock was his only company. 

Twilight was the most stubborn of the group. Even after Time told Twilight that he’d quit his job at the co-op for him, and that the safest place for him was back in Ordon, and that the car was already waiting for him out front, Twilight wouldn’t budge. 

“I’m not leaving.”

“You don’t get to make that choice.” _Neither do I._

“I know you weren’t telling us the truth. Not all of it.”

Time had only hummed noncommittally in response, keeping his eye on the bag he was packing for Twilight. 

“You can’t do this one alone, Old Man.” 

Time bit his tongue as his ire built. 

“Who is Fierce Deity?”

“Twilight, you’re biting off more than you can chew--”

“And you’re in over your head!” Twilight yanked his duffel bag out of Time’s hands. “You shouldn’t handle this by yourself! You didn’t get here without help, you said so yourself, so stop refusing it now!!”

“What, do you want to be the hero!?” Even though Time got in his face, Twilight didn’t back down, holding his gaze evenly. “Because it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, cowboy. You go in with your high ideals to try and fix things, you get your hands dirty, and the person who hired you gets to keep their reputation clean while you’re left knee-deep in angry psychopaths trying to tear your life apart!! Is that what you want!?”

Twilight didn’t falter, didn’t take the bait and let the situation devolve into a fruitless screaming match.

“Who is Fierce Deity?”

Time heaved a long, shaky sigh. 

He was so, _so_ tired. 

At 9:20, Time rinsed out the full coffee carafe and set the unread newspaper in the recycling bin on his way back up the stairs.

This was something he’d been putting off for too long.

In his exhaustion, muscle memory guided his actions. He shed his costume, the white oxford floating down onto the rumpled duvet, grey slacks to follow. White performance fabric fit snugly across his vest and didn’t hamper his movement beneath the dark green leather jacket - the uniform of a much younger, much more optimistic man. Slim hidden pockets were convenient for hiding ammunition but weighed the jacket down considerably. He frowned as he pulled on brown leather gloves like gauntlets, laced up thick boots with scuffs on the heels. 

The sharp sound of breaking glass interrupted his grim routine. Tied to a brick in the hallway, he found another crudely-scrawled note:

_What is it that makes you happy?_

The sudden visceral reaction he had to the note overrode his exhaustion. 

Down the hallway, thick boots rattling the floorboards.

Down the stairs, adjusting the holster beneath his jacket as he went.

Down to the garage, where the door creaked open on rusted rails. 

Epona snarled to life between his thighs, an animal sound that echoed the building rage in his gut. 

_Do you think it makes others happy, too?_

It was a threat that made his blood run cold, a sensation rivaled only by the sickening dread he felt when he arrived at unit 1134 to find the door ajar. 

Time drew his handgun and consciously worked to even out his breathing. His blood was thrumming with adrenaline, but his practiced mind was running faster than his heart rate. He had prepared himself for this awful scenario for years, but knowing something will happen and being prepared for it are two very different things. He worked hard to keep his anger in check as he slowly shouldered open the door to Malon’s apartment just wide enough for him to squeeze through. 

He crept down the hallway silently, pressing himself against the wall as he came upon the bright living area in the center of her apartment. It was _extraordinarily_ bright in here. The furniture, the wall hangings, the rugs were all gone. The only thing that remained was a glass vase forgotten on the balcony, lavender roses dried and wilted to a dark purple-brown, the color of an old bruise. The voices he heard echoed off of bare floors and ceilings. 

“--three bedrooms, two baths, and the balcony overlooks the park. Water and sewer are included in the rent. This is really a prime location for--”

Time holstered his weapon just as the voices rounded the corner: a realtor and young couple touring the apartment. The realtor startled. “Can I help you, sir?”

Time glanced around the empty apartment and back to the realtor. His throat worked, but he didn’t speak. 

“I’m sorry sir, this apartment is available for viewing by appointment only. I can give you my card, but you’ll have to come ba--”

He turned and swiftly exited back down the hallway without a word.

_She was already gone_.

Time paced rapidly on the pavement behind her apartment building, pushing his fingers through his hair, obsessively checking his watch each time he turned. His breath came short and shallow as he struggled to bleed off some adrenaline, to regain some control over himself.

_She’s gone._

_She’s gone._

_She’s gone._

The words echoed in his skull the way his footsteps had echoed in her empty apartment. As reality set in, he felt the fight ebbing out of him, replaced by something far worse: a sucking chest wound, suffocating him with every breath he took. 

Malon had left, and now she would be safe. 

Just as the boys should be safe, now that he’d sent them away.

_Safe without him._

His frantic pacing ceased.

The good things in Time’s life had come to a close. His loose ends had all been cut away - some by himself, some by others - and he was left dangling at the end of his rope with nothing left to hold on to except a hateful mantra: 

_This was Deity’s fault._

His fault that angry tears ran down Malon’s cheeks as she stomped off of the front porch, just as thick raindrops slid down his cheeks as he pushed Epona through the rain. He held a white-knuckled grip on the clutch as he skidded along wet pavement.

_This was Deity’s fault_. 

His fault Time had split his knuckles on the brass sconce that night, just as he split his knuckles now on the jaw of a masked man that dared to block his path down the hallway, and the next, and the next. Despite the fact that he was armed to the teeth, he never drew his gun. He hated to admit that it felt _good_ to lash out physically with all of his rage and grief and self-hatred.

_This was Deity’s fault._

His fault that Wild had screamed as Time lifted him out of the car and carried him up a dark stairwell into the hospital, just as Time screamed now as he was shoved face-first against the wall, his left arm pinned behind him. He had expected a rowdy welcoming party, but he wasn’t prepared for just how many there were, waiting for him to accept his invitation to this futile fight. Time tasted blood, and his head swam with every blow. They all knew what this outcome would be.

_This was Deity’s fault._

His fault that Time had to drag Twilight’s suitcase out to the curb himself, just as he was dragged along the carpet and unceremoniously dropped onto his face. He pushed himself up, blood dribbling from his mouth as he panted raggedly. Surrounding him, four hideous faces looked on as a smiling man approached him, red hair parted perfectly, purple suit pressed, the smile lines on his face looking permanently carved therein. He leaned down patronizingly as though he was addressing a child when he spoke:

“You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you, Fierce Deity?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the boys go to a party, Wild shows off his parkour skills, and Hyrule shows up late with Starbucks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notice anything different? 
> 
> YES, I said this would be six chapters, and YES, I just added a seventh one, but that's only because the tone shift that would occur in the middle of this chapter would just be too harsh. I have it written, and it will be posted in two days, and I do promise a happy ending!
> 
> But until that ending, let's talk trigger warnings. Please be aware that this chapter contains the following: choking, firefights/gun violence, cursing, blood (no explicit gore), explosions, people getting tasered, attempted abduction, killing/implied deaths, near-death experiences, references to depression, falling, (heights?? tall things??? how do I say this? if you are scared of heights, be warned), body horror, suggestive language, (light, social) drinking, drug references (I mean, they’re at a rave), and I think that's everything.

Time was quite disoriented when he awoke. He couldn’t breathe through his nose; his sinuses were congested, and his head felt stuffy and full. His equilibrium was completely unstable; he had the sensation of vertigo, slowly swaying, and both of his feet were asleep. A frigid breeze chilled him to the core. As he came to, the sounds of the city seemed far away, drowned out by the heavy ticking of a clock. A repetitive beat thumped softly in the distance. 

As he opened his eye, he became even more disoriented by his blindness. A thick sheet of plaster covered his face, nestled uncomfortably against his forehead and nose, tied firmly around the back of his head. 

_A mask_ , he recognized, as a considerable amount of dread pooled in his stomach. 

Time tried unsuccessfully to move his hands toward his face to remove the obstruction. He felt that his wrists were bound, arms stretched out wide on either side of him. Experimentally shifting his legs, he found that the binding around his shins and ankles must be why his feet were fast asleep, and his muscles groaned in protest. Moving his head to either side, he felt a rope firmly tied around his neck as well, just slack enough to give him a bit of movement. 

The heavy ticking behind him resonated louder as a full minute had passed, and the wall behind him felt like it _moved_. As it did, some of his weight shifted from the binding on his right ankle to that on his left, pulling uncomfortably as he dangled in the air. 

Oh.

_Oh, fuck._

Aided by the pull of gravity, the pooling dread in Time’s stomach bubbled up abruptly, and he swallowed hard to keep from vomiting. Behind him, the seconds continued to tick by impassively.

___

  
  


Termina was usually as vibrant and crowded after dark as it was during the day, but tonight was exceptional. The subway was tightly-packed and noisy, most riders disembarking at the main station. The air was electric, vibrating with muffled bass and the dull roar of thousands of voices. Streets and sidewalks were littered with trash and wrappers. Crowds of revelers meandered toward the center square beneath Termina’s famous clocktower, queuing up at the entrance to the Lunar Cycle festival to celebrate its third and final night. Many wore regalia purchased during earlier days of the festival boasting its mascot: the snarling, malevolent face of the moon. 

The boys were getting there pretty late in the day. Twilight had been the first to arrive at their designated meeting spot a few blocks from the main gate. The collar of his flannel shirt was pulled up toward his ears, a knit cap drawn down over his bangs to hide the healing scar on his forehead. He loitered restlessly as the others trickled in.

“Everybody got out quietly? No one tipped off their guard?” Legend furtively scanned the crowd as he addressed the group. 

“Oh, the guard knows I was heading out,” Warriors replied smugly, “But they are sworn to secrecy.”

Four squinted at him. “Hey Wars, what’s that on your neck?”

Warriors winked as he tightened his silk scarf.

Twilight leaned against the wall behind him, his right leg bouncing incessantly. He was only partially paying attention to the others as they discussed plans and logistics. 

“--private event hosted by the Gyorg Group somewhere at the festival, but I can’t find the location listed anywhere--”

Twilight pulled his phone out and checked it for the hundredth time in the last hour. _Nothing yet_. Shoving it back into his pocket, he continued scanning the crowd.

“--you happen to run into any Sheikah guards, just fucking _run_ , it’s not worth- Hey, Twilight, are you even listening?”

Twilight straightened up as he recognized Sky and Wild among the crowd. He pushed off of the wall, leaving the others in the midst of their discussion as he jogged toward them. Wild perked up as he spotted Twilight. “Hey Twi, long time no see! How’s it hangi-”

Wild was cut off by the crushing hug that Twilight caught him up in. Twilight’s muscles felt staticky, and squeezing Wild helped him bleed off some of his anxiety. Just seeing him wasn’t enough; Twilight had to _feel_ that he was really there. Wild made a strangled little sound that caused Twilight to jump. He backed off, holding Wild at arm’s length, his right hand nervously hovering over Wild’s shoulder. “Oh shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t think--”

“Relax, man,” Wild laughed, waving off his concern, “It’s all good! Just getting used to how it feels.”

Twilight felt like he was in a haze, watching the world in slow motion as the rest of the boys caught up to them, each greeting Wild warmly. Wild pulled back the hair on the left side of his face to show the others his stylish new side cut, and Twilight caught the way his left shoulder hitched up as he turned his head. 

_He was still guarding that side_. 

Warriors slung an arm around Sky’s shoulders, playfully ribbing him about taking someone home tonight. 

_But they can’t, because they’re locked down at home._

While the others laughed and chatted, Legend and Four kept their eyes on the crowd. 

_Because paranoia meant survival now._

No one noticed the tension in Twilight’s neck, or the way he grit his teeth, or that he nervously thumbed the corner of his phone in his pocket. The words “unknown polytrauma” rattled around in his brain as his stomach twisted with worry. 

_“Wait up, guys!!”_

The six boys turned toward the sound of footsteps closing in on them and Twilight inwardly groaned. Wind was trying so hard to be incognito that he actually came around the other side of the spectrum. A ragged blue trench coat that looked like it came from the very bottom of a secondhand store bin hung off of his shoulders, the large collar covering his face up to his cheekbones. Wind beamed proudly in it. “Alright, I’m ready, let’s g--”

“No you’re not.” Warriors frowned as he nodded toward Wind’s outfit. “Take that hideous thing off.” 

“What!?” Wind cried in outrage. 

“Sorry, but I have to agree with him,” Sky chuckled, “You look like a little kid pretending to be a pirate.” 

“And it smells like low tide on a hot day.” 

Twilight’s heart hammered in his chest as they headed toward the entrance to the festival. Pounding bass vibrated through the air, rattling his frayed nerves. _It was an uncomfortably familiar sensation._ As they neared the end of the queue, Twilight stopped in his tracks, clenching his fists at his sides as he steeled himself. “Wait, guys.” 

Six surprised stares turned onto Twilight, and he swallowed hard. Legend pinched the bridge of his nose as he muttered, “ _Goddess, give me strength_.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t--”

“Twilight,” Four folded his arms, “Listen, I’ve tried to stick up for you, but you’ve _gotta stop_ , man.” 

“Honestly,” Warriors sneered, “I didn’t subject myself to public transportation just to have a look at the entrance.” 

Twilight huffed in frustration. “I just don’t think--”

“Twilight,” Legend’s patience was audibly wearing thin, “You have been such an irrational pessimist during this entire ordeal, and coming from me that’s--”

“Well it’s not like you’ve been listening to me anyway!”

Sky attempted to step in. “While I hesitate to say it out loud, Wars is right--”

“It’s _about time_ someone acknowledged it.”

“--We didn’t come this far just to turn around at the gate. Now either you are with us--”

“I _am_ with you! I’m standing right here, aren’t I?”

Legend snarled, “Then why the fuck are you trying to stop us--”

“Because I’m _trying_ to protect you!” 

“What, by pushing us away and hiding things from us?” Legend frowned deeply. “Gee, doesn’t _that_ sound familiar.” 

Twilight’s jaw snapped shut, the flare of anger in his eyes dying quickly. _Legend was right_. Twilight heaved a shaky sigh, avoiding everyone’s gaze as he let the truth tumble out of his mouth. “If it wasn’t for me, none of you would have ended up at the townhouse, and none of you would have gotten hurt. I feel… awful about it.”

“Man, if it wasn’t for you,” Wild attempted to defuse the situation, “I’d probably be homeless.” 

Four’s brow twitched as he muttered, “I’d still be sleeping at the garage.”

Various affirmations murmured through the group. Twilight pursed his lips, looking at each of them with grave concern. “Guys, you really don’t need to do this.” 

“Sure we do.” Wild grinned as he gently nudged Twilight’s arm with his elbow. “We’re all in this together now, for you _and_ for the Old Man. I mean, he can get really _really_ mad about stuff, but he’s still never mad when I forget the rent.”

“And yeah, this new living situation sucks,” Four chimed in, “But he only did it because he wants us to be safe.” 

“Yeah,” Legend added, and it was his turn to avoid eye contact, “He’s not just _pretending_ to care.” 

“Besides, clearly we’re all good at making our own bad decisions,” Warriors sighed as he glanced back toward the main gate, “Which is why we’re all here in the first place.” 

Twilight looked from one face to the next, finding no hint of trepidation or resentment, only camaraderie. He sighed, straightening up and nodding. “Alright. Let’s go make some more bad decisions, then.” 

_If something happened to any one of them, he wouldn’t forgive himself_. 

___

By the time they cleared security, the ground was already vibrating beneath their feet. The song was adapted from an 8-bit video game, plucky and heroic, that gradually morphed into something so bass-boosted it was nearly tangible. The crowd was an ocean bobbing and bouncing along to the beat, and the boys filtered in among the revelers, instinctively moving with the bass as it rattled in their chests. The air was thick with humidity and the occasional waft of pungent smoke. A multitude of monitors hung in clocktower square to showcase the act on center stage, causing a bright blue glare that blotted out the sky. 

Twilight felt a tap on his shoulder and saw that Legend was shouting at him, but he couldn’t understand a single word. Frowning, Legend pulled out his phone and tapped a quick message: 

_Legend - 11:36pm_

Let’s split up.

Twilight nodded, grabbing hold of Wild’s hood before he wandered too far away. Warriors was already distracted, sidling up alongside some scantily-clad partiers to introduce himself; rolling his eyes, Sky snatched him by the scarf and dragged him deeper into the crowd toward the stage, waving to Wind to join them. Legend and Four set off together in the direction of concessions. That left Twilight and Wild to skim toward the back of the crowd. 

Wild bounced along, visibly savoring each frenetic build-up and every bass drop. “One hundred twenty-eight beats per minute, man,” he shouted over the din into Twilight’s ear, “It’s what gets the crowd going.” Twilight frowned, at first thinking that Wild was getting lost in his own head again, but he saw the focused way his laser-blue eyes scanned through the crowd. “It’s like your heartbeat when you’re driving too fast on a dark road because you’re having too much fun to slow down, like the first time you sneak a beer out of your parents’ stash but then you realize it tastes like shit, like when you’re staring at the girl of your dreams in class and then she looks back… 

“There.” His voice shifted as he stopped dead in his tracks, patting Twilight’s chest with the back of his hand. Twilight followed his gaze to the foot of the building opposite the stage and his blood turned to ice in his veins. “I bet we’ll find some answers up there.” Flanking either side of double glass doors were two hulking guards in dark suits. The pattern on their red and white masks was forever etched into Twilight’s mind. 

“You and I are too recognizable,” Twilight frowned, gesturing to his nose. He pulled out his phone. “Let me text the guys, see if maybe Sky and Wars would go up.” 

Wild set his hand over Twilight’s phone, gesturing to the door with a grin. “I think we can figure something out.” A group of drunken partiers tumbled out of the door, laughing as they pulled off the masks they’d been wearing. The eyes on the moon masks were a bright bloodshot red, and the cratered texture was finely-detailed. They’d been incredibly popular and had sold out early on in the festival. 

Swallowing his reservations, Twilight nodded. Wild approached the group as they entered the crowd. “Hey, guys- Hey! Cool masks!! How much...?”

A few minutes of haggling and one tense elevator ride later, Twilight and Wild stood in a line leading to the rooftop bar entrance. Twilight’s mask reeked of sweat and beer and cheap lipstick, but he diligently kept it in place as they passed the second security check. He couldn’t imagine what the point of security even was; once they made it inside, they found the club to be teeming with all sorts of unsavory characters. 

Twilight kept his hand on the phone in his pocket as he side-eyed the Hylian who pranced about the room, greasy fingers retrieving wallets from unsuspecting partiers. A curtained lounge off to one side hosted a gathering of curvaceous Gerudo pirates, women who weren’t afraid to keep their scimitars in plain sight. Masked Garo ninjas looked a bit silly skulking about the perimeter of the room, but the silver blades peeking out from beneath their cloaks were no joke. 

Twilight and Wild made their way to the bar, squeezing in between a large skeletal fellow in a gold headdress and a younger man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a mask shaped like a bird’s beak. Wild leaned over the bar to order them some drinks. Twilight kept his face cast down as the young man next to him ever-so-slowly turned his head. Twilight felt hollow eyes burning into the side of his skull, owlish and unblinking. Tension coiled in his forearms as the man leaned in closer - _no concern for personal space from this guy_ \- until Twilight could smell the latex of his mask. 

“Happy’s really outdone himself with this one, hm?”

Twilight stiffly turned, meeting the eyes of the character next to him. “How do you mean?”

The man chuckled, an impish sound that was at odds with his ghastly appearance. “Don’t you know?” Twilight could hear the smile in his voice. “You’re about to witness a terrible fate.” 

“Alright everyone, it’s nearly time! Although I guess that’s a bit of a pun, isn’t it?” The proud crowing and clapping drew everyone’s attention to the curtain along one side of the room - including that of Twilight’s new friend, much to his relief. The man at the front of the room was dressed in his finery for the evening. His long coat was a rich purple and gold brocade with an ostentatious gold detail at the collar. Red hair was perfectly coiffed, not a strand out of place, and framed his face neatly. Twilight found his face unsettling; the smile seemed permanently plastered onto his face, which hardly wrinkled as he spoke. This must be ‘Happy.’ _Wonder if that was his nickname before the piss-poor Botox job._ “Gather ‘round, everyone! It’s already eleven forty-five. Get yourself a good seat for the finale!”

Twilight and Wild exchanged a glance - or what glance they could share from behind their masks. They turned on their barstools, ignoring the drinks that were set in front of them, while the whole room fell into silence. 

“Tonight has been a night several years in the making!” Happy clasped his hands and bounced slightly on the balls of his feet as he spoke. “There have long been two sides that run the city of Termina: the bright shining light of the sun, and the shadows that stretch into darkness. We exist in equilibrium, like the cycle of the day itself. Now, there are some who would seek to eradicate those of us in the shadows completely, some of whom are rather talented at doing so.” His voice dipped low, _dangerous_ , and those smiling eyes opened just enough for Twilight to see how bloodshot they were. “They’re the type who want to ‘do what is right,’ not realizing that ‘right’ is relative.”

Crowded in as they were at the bar, Twilight swore he felt Wild shift even closer to him.

“With a little creativity and the right kind of twine,” he rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, drawing derisive laughter from the crowd, “It can be easy to string up simple-minded do-gooders into useful little marionettes.” Happy accepted the flute of sparkling champagne delivered by one of his masked lackeys. “When our guest of honor came into my employ, he had high ideals and a list of credentials that included the arraignment of one Ganondorf Dragmire.” Disapproval murmured through the crowd, but Happy’s smile never faltered. “His orders were simple: deliver the five crime bosses of Termina to me - _alive_ \- such that I could ‘convince’ them to turn over their assets and re-distribute them accordingly. With the tough assignment came a tougher persona: a god of destruction, a face to distract the bosses from those of us pulling the strings, someone for them to fear and to hate. And he did well, very well,” Twilight watched Happy’s fist begin to shake, “Until the very end of his assignment.”

A sharp _pop_ punctuated his words as he fractured the stem of his flute. His expression never faltered. 

“A puppet that can no longer be used is merely garbage, and this puppet’s role has finally come to an end. What’s more, I hear he’s well-hung, ladies,” he nodded in the direction of the Gerudo crowd who whooped in response. “So let’s see if that’s really true! Ladies and gentleman, allow me to present to you our guest of honor - _the Fierce Deity!_ ”

A villainous cheer went up from the crowd as the curtain opened. Behind it was an open patio that was level with the face of the clock tower across the street and looked out over the festival below. Twilight squinted to focus on the clock face itself, as he’d never seen it so close-up.

The clocktower was the centerpiece of Termina, and its clock face had an artistic design. The outer bezel rotated to time the seconds that passed, while the inner face moved with each minute. It took several seconds for Twilight to make sense of what he was witnessing, but once he did he felt his heart leap into his throat. Strung up by five points around the perimeter of the inner face, a man hung in the very center, struggling against the ropes that stretched his limbs away from his body - arms out straight at his sides, legs apart beneath him. A fifth rope, attached snugly around his neck and anchored at the twelve o’clock position, appeared to be causing the most distress. Twilight couldn’t see his face on account of the mask - a snarling Hylian face striped with red and blue - but there was no mistaking Time’s hair, even if it was caked with dried blood. 

A minute passed - _11:47pm_ \- and the clock face advanced, shifting more weight from Time’s left arm into the rope around his neck. Twilight watched his shoulders strain in a vain attempt to relieve some of the pressure. 

Happy raised his glass. “May your final moments of suffering be entertaining for us all!”

Twilight reached to smack Wild on the shoulder and felt that he was already in motion. The pair pushed back ungracefully from the bar, stools toppling over behind them. They shoved their way through the crowded room, barreling out the door and down the hallway. Unwilling to wait for the elevator, they burst through the fire exit onto the stairs. Masks were cast thoughtlessly onto the floor. 

Twilight took entire flights three bounds at a time, using his arms to swing himself around landings and propel him down the next set of stairs. He fumbled his phone out of his pocket and hastily dialed Legend’s number. 

_Call Failed._

Wild hit the landing next to him, his own phone up to his ear, desperation in his eyes. Twilight vaulted down the next flight, queuing up Warriors’s number. A jolt of pain rattled up from his ankles as he hit the cement landing hard. 

_Call Failed._

Far above, an exit door banged open. The sound of booming voices echoed down the stairwell and Twilight heard heavy footfalls. He and Wild shared a terrified glance. Twilight continued bounding down flights while Wild opted to swing himself over the railing, dropping down one floor at a time, zig-zagging across the chasm in the center of the stairwell. Twilight frantically dialed Four’s number.

_Call Failed._

His breath burned in his throat as he shoved his phone into his pocket, focusing on the cement steps ahead. Floors passed by in a blur, the shouting behind him getting closer and closer despite how hard he pushed himself. He caught a glimpse of Wild swinging between metal bannisters farther below, gaining ground much more quickly.

Twilight’s roaring adrenaline drowned out the common sense screaming in the back of his mind. He gripped the metal railing and sailed over the edge. The opposite railing came at him _too fast_ and he took the metal hard in the gut, stopping him in his tracks. He was not as light on his feet as Wild was and he grunted at the solid impact of each metal railing on the way down. His grip failed him on the final level and he landed heavily on the ground floor, knocking the wind out of him.

“Come on!!” Wild already had the fire exit open and beckoned Twilight through. He slammed the door shut and Twilight looked around for something to block it with. He dove for the dumpster nearest the exit door, its rusted castering wheels groaning in protest, but Wild grabbed his sleeve. “I got it! _Go!!_ ”

_11:48pm._

Twilight launched himself into the crowded street, shoving people aside as he made for center stage at the foot of the clocktower. His heart rate rivaled the thumping bass of the manic number that was playing. Glancing upward, he could see nothing through the haze and glare of bright screens hanging over the crowd.

He pulled out his phone again and dialed Legend’s number, relieved to hear the ringing tone in his ear. When Legend picked up on the other end, he didn’t wait to hear him speak. 

“Legend! _The clock!!_ We have to get up the fucking tower _now_!!”

On the other end of the line, all he heard was the hiss of background noise. 

“Legend _where are you!?_ ”

The background noise cut out for a split second before resuming. 

Twilight could have crushed his phone in his fucking hand. 

The crowd became denser the closer he got to the clocktower, hampering his progress. He sandwiched himself between a couple aggressively making out. Someone’s beer spilled down the front of his flannel. He tried to ask for help but couldn’t garner the attention of people vibing with the beat or taking final night selfies. Once Twilight was in the center of the sea of moving bodies, he recognized that even if he made it to the main stage, there was no way to get into the clocktower behind it unless he wanted to brawl with security. The futility of his situation began to set in as he shouted in his frustration and couldn’t even hear _himself_ over the din. He was caged in with thousands of people who he couldn’t even ask to help. 

_11:49pm._

_He was running out of time._

Twilight felt someone grip his sleeve. He turned quickly, prepared to fight, but Four raised his hands in a placating gesture. Legend stood just behind him, looking concerned. Twilight struggled to shout over the music, gesturing frantically up toward the clocktower. Four motioned toward the side of the stage where an orderly line had formed leading toward the bathrooms. The crowd was much thinner in that direction.

The trio wove their way through the horde as quickly as they could. A temporary chain-link fence had been erected to keep the festival corralled, and Twilight heard the shouts of partiers and security guards as he started clambering over it. He landed heavily on the other side, his friends landing just behind him. Twilight looked around for an entrance to the clocktower, but Four set his hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “Twi, where’s Wild? What’s going on?”

As Twilight turned, the music erupted with the ear-splitting wail of a siren that caused goosebumps to rise on his forearms. Four stood at arm’s length, looking very uneasy. Legend stood nearby, typing swiftly into his phone as he updated the group chat on their location. Behind them, just barely visible in the shadows, four figures stealthily advanced toward them. Twilight was familiar by now with their dark purple and navy garb. 

The Sheikah guards had arrived to collect their charges. 

_11:50pm._

**“ _RUN!!_ ”**

The boys began sprinting toward the clocktower, but their pursuers were too close behind. Twilight felt someone grab the back of his flannel shirt and he swiftly shrugged it off of his shoulders to escape their grasp. He threw himself forward, hearing their footfalls fading behind him. _Maybe he could make it!_ But as he heard Legend and Four shouting for help behind him, hot anger flared in his chest. 

_Not this time._

Twilight skidded to a halt, abruptly turning and lashing out at the Sheikah on his heels. The man’s nose crunched under his elbow. Ducking past him, Twilight zeroed in on Four’s opponent who had him caught up in a choke hold. Twilight moved without thinking. He caught the guard around the middle, his momentum carrying all three of them as they landed heavily on the pavement. 

Grappling in the street was a confusing flurry of arms and legs. The man who caught Four tried to lock his arm behind his back, but Four was able to twist out of his grip and turned quickly to lash out in retaliation. Twilight lunged to help before he felt someone’s arm wrap around his neck. He tried to push himself back onto his feet, but the asphalt beneath his hands was wet and slick. A thick swath of material - his own flannel - was wrapped around his face to blind and muzzle him. 

Twilight heard tires skidding to a halt nearby and the metallic sound of car doors popping open. He was roughly hauled to his feet, dragged along by the arm around his neck, firm enough to hold but not choking him yet. He heard Legend cursing and struggling just ahead of him, then the hollow echo of his voice as he was shoved into the waiting vehicle. 

In the darkness, Twilight felt someone brush by very close to him. 

The arm around his neck relented, and Twilight heard shouts erupting all around him. He snatched the shirt away from his face to find that Wind had wrenched the attacker off of Twilight’s back. He grabbed Twilight, pulling them away from the fray as Legend and Sky caught up next to them. Just ahead, Four and Warriors followed Wild as he led the group toward the entrance to the clocktower. 

“Okay, that’s the second time you two have been able to hold your own in a fight.” Wind’s eyes were wide as he looked up toward Sky. “What gives?”

Sky kept his gaze focused ahead. “Ex-royal guard at your service.”

“Emphasis on ‘ex’!” Warriors shouted from ahead.

_11:55pm._

The heavy wooden doors weren’t locked, and they creaked open on old hinges. The babble of a subterranean brook gave a soft background to the methodical ticking that resonated throughout the tower. The clocktower was several stories tall, its interior not meant for tourists to view. Large exposed gears towered overhead - balance wheels, escapements, striking mechanisms for the chimes high above. A lattice of metal staircases, landings, and short bridges meant for maintenance work snaked its way into the darkness above their heads. Twilight gripped Wild’s shoulder. “We’ll go up,” he panted, “You, Four, and Wind figure out some way to stop the clock.”

“Take something sharp!” Wild shouted after them.

“The fuck does that mean?” Legend’s eyes were wide as the metal staircase clanged beneath their shoes. “Guys? What does he mean??”

“I’m not sure, but--” _Pop!!_ Legend shouted as pieces of glass crunched under their shoes. “--This feels like an emergency.” Warriors hefted the fire axe he had liberated from its glass case along the wall. 

“Just _hurry!_ ” Thorns tore at the back of Twilight’s throat with every shallow breath. The gears of the tower groaned as another minute passed, and his chest tightened. _Running out of time!_ He heard another _pop_ as Legend grabbed a second fire axe along the way. 

Flight after flight rushed past until they reached the top floor. Two A-frame ladders were left haphazardly placed near the back of the clock face, and a few lengths of rope were scattered about the floor. There was no marking to highlight the exit onto the balcony beneath the clock face. A rush of frigid air blasted their faces as they burst through the exit. The other boys followed Twilight’s gaze up toward the face of the clock, and Twilight wasn’t sure whether he or another one of them swore.

_11:57pm._

Time’s body swayed in the breeze nearly thirty feet above their heads. The snarling Deity mask glared down at them silently. His arms had gone slack. 

_Too late._

Twilight’s feet were frozen in place. He heard the other boys shouting and the scuffing of their shoes on the stone. His heart pounded heavily in his chest like it was struggling to pump tar through his veins. Warriors and Legend vanished back into the clocktower, hefting their axes. He felt fuzzy, lightheaded, and he realized somewhere distantly that he wasn’t breathing. Sky stood near the door, screaming into his phone. 

And then, the rope around Time’s neck was cut loose. 

He fell forward by about a foot, arms wrenched upward by his own weight. His head lolled. Twilight realized that they must have cut the rope from its attachment point behind the face of the clock. _A glimmer of hope._ He felt himself starting to breathe again.

“Yes!!” Sky shouted through the doorway to the others, “It’s working! _Keep going!!_ ” 

Twilight watched as the tension holding Time’s right leg released, the freed limb dangling limply. The opposite leg quickly followed. _Great, just two more, just two and we can get him down._ Twilight positioned himself beneath Time’s body and optimistically held out his arms. _Hurry hurry hurryhurryhurr--_

Then, as the rope holding his right arm was severed, Twilight realized that they hadn’t thought this through completely. Time’s body swung outward like a pendulum, sailing over the edge of the balcony and dangling over the festival thousands of feet below. Twilight thought he was going to be sick. He briefly paused at the apex of his trajectory before swinging back over Twilight’s head. Twilight scrambled for the loose rope hanging from his leg as it sailed past, looking for some way to stabilize him.

Sky ducked his head into the open doorway. “ _Guys!_ **_Wait!!!_ **”

Time swung outward, the final rope was cut, and he _plummeted_. 

Just before it swung out of reach, Twilight snagged the dangling rope and looped it around his forearm. With no time to brace himself, he hit the balcony floor hard, dragged along toward the edge with building speed. Twilight shouted as he slammed into the bannister chest-first, the rope burning where it cut into his skin. He struggled to find some way to counterbalance Time’s weight, but it was all happening too fast. He felt his center of gravity shifting as he began being dragged over the edge. The shadow of Time’s limp form swayed in the lights from the festival far below as they swirled in Twilight’s vision.

He felt the footsteps resonating behind him before Sky wrapped his arms around Twilight’s middle. The two pulled _hard_ , struggling valiantly against gravity only to gain a few inches. Sky’s arms shook as he leaned his weight into Twilight’s gut, and now he was _sure_ he was going to be sick. 

“Guys!!” Sky called between grit teeth, “ _A little help!_ ”

“How did this happen!?” Warriors set his heel against the railing, grabbing the rope just ahead of Twilight’s grip and heaving, giving Twilight enough slack to unwind his burning forearm. 

“Because you were _too fucking slow_ getting your ass up that ladder!” Legend was the next to grab onto the rope, providing further stability. 

“Would you two just _shut up and pull!?_ ”

All four boys alternated between hefting and holding, straining to haul Time back up. When he was close enough for them to grab, they heaved him onto the balcony, loosening the rope from around his neck right away. As Sky peeled the snarling mask from his face, Twilight had to look away.

The funerary chime of the clocktower resonated through their skulls.

_12:00am._

“He’s breathing,” Sky announced. Twilight felt himself begin to breathe again, too.

There was barely a moment of relief, however, before Wild was bounding onto the balcony. 

“ _Guys!_ **_We gotta go!!_** ”

Stumbling back indoors with Time hefted between Sky’s and Twilight’s shoulders, the boys didn’t make it very far. Heavy footfalls echoed up the stairs and within moments they came into view: four tall men in dark suits, hideous masks snug against their faces. They each came with two escorts - hooded Garo ninjas and the tall men in red and white masks, identical to those that broke into the townhouse. They were followed by the man in the purple suit, his unsettling smile falling on each of the boys in turn. 

“Well well! It seems that tonight will be entertaining indeed. A shame I’ll be the only one to enjoy it.”

Happy stood grinning with hands clasped before him, bouncing on the balls of his feet, flanked closely by his suited deputies. “It is truly unfortunate that it has come to this, truly unfortunate. You see, I was only after him.” He gestured to where Time slumped, unconscious. The boys clustered in protectively as he did. “It’s a shame you all decided to get involved.”

“Why him?” It must have looked comical for the smallest of them to be standing in front of the others defensively, but what Four lacked in stature he made up with the hard tone of his voice. Twilight was surprised to see him sliding a pocket knife out of his back pocket. _How did he get that past security?_ “What did he ever do to you?”

“Ah, see, it’s more a matter of what he _didn’t_ do.” There was an unsettling amount of teeth in the salesman’s smile. He gestured to the masked men who accompanied him. “I hired him for what should have been an easy job: dispatch the most infamous crime bosses in Termina, that’s it. No mess, no evidence, _no publicity_.” Happy extended his hands to encompass the four men flanking him. “And he did a fine job, a fine job! Except for the most important part.”

“You’ve got the wrong guy.” Legend’s tone was cold. “You should be after the Fierce Deity.” 

Happy laughed aloud, and Twilight felt his heart twist in his chest. “Oh my, I think you’ve already met the Fierce Deity, haven’t you? That’s just the name we gave to his little _mean streak._ ”

Twilight watched a perceptible shift among the group from all except Wild as the truth dawned on them. His grip on Time’s forearm tightened slightly, the skin beneath his fingers cool and clammy. He glanced over toward Sky with uncertainty, but Sky merely gestured to the wall behind them. The pair stepped backward and gently lowered Time to the floor, propping him against the wall to keep him upright. 

Time was still out cold but Twilight could hear his breathing, raspy and wet. He wasn’t sure whether that was comforting or not. Time’s face was bruised and long, arcing lines had been carved into his forehead and the right side of his face. _How long had he been held captive?_ Anger boiled in Twilight’s gut. 

“Aren’t they handsome?” Happy walked a long arc around the suited men who towered over him. “These are the faces of the four preeminent crime families of Termina - Odolwa, Goht, Gyorg, and Twinmold. And you see this face?” He turned to face the group, gesturing to his unsettling permasmile. 

“Unfortunately, yes,” Warriors muttered.

“It’s missing something, isn’t it? Mine was to be the crown jewel of these powerful men, their leader, the face of Majora himself.” Happy opened his eyes, and Twilight heard the others’ sharp intake of breath as it changed the entire landscape of his face. “And this angry heathen made sure that not only would it not be mine, but it could _never_ be mine. I hired him to deliver Majora to me, and instead he was left torn apart for the entire world to see. The status, the infamy, **_he took it from me!!_** ” 

Happy’s booming voice echoed throughout the clocktower, seeming to come from all around them. In the brief silence that followed, Twilight heard Wind’s whisper as he nudged Wild’s forearm. “ _Psst._ What’s the festival hashtag?” Twilight would have been annoyed with him if he wasn’t somewhat amused by the passive-aggressive display of indifference. 

“It’s different every day,” Wild blinked down at Wind. “Tonight’s is ‘FinalDay.’”

“Cool, thanks.” 

“Which begs the question.” Happy adjusted his lapels, his eyes closing again as his grin widened. “Why in Din’s name are you all here in the first place? Haven’t you had your fill of lies, and cruelty,” Happy looked pointedly at Wild, who snarled in return, “And getting caught in the crosshairs of his old mistakes?”

“We’ve all made mistakes.” It was Warriors who spoke up, and Twilight was surprised at how calm and even his voice sounded. “That doesn’t define who we are, or who he is.” 

“Isn’t that touching!” Happy derisively clasped his hands near his face in a gesture of mock admiration before dropping them again, just as his voice dropped. “A shame you won’t live long enough to learn from _this_ mistake.”

Happy’s surrounding guard signaled to their entourage, and eight motley fighters surged toward the group. Unarmed and inexperienced, this time the boys didn’t hesitate; they met their assailants in the middle. 

With his pulse thrumming in his throat, Twilight lunged first for one of the closest Garo, eyes on the two thin blades poking out from beneath his sleeves. _He needed a weapon._ He twisted away from the first slice, the blade cutting through his jeans like it was merely tearing through paper. The second strike came swiftly as the ninja lashed out with both blades like scissors aimed for his neck. Twilight bent backward, feeling the kiss of steel along his cheekbones. In the split-second opening that followed, Twilight dove forward, his fist landing heavily in the center of the sturdy mask. As the ninja stumbled back, Twilight grabbed him by both of his wrists. He hitched his knee up as he yanked the Garo toward himself, and Twilight felt one of his ribs crack on impact.

Wild, ever light on his feet, dodged deftly as a second Garo slashed toward him. A flash of silver sent him bending backward, a few flaxen strands floating through the air in its wake. He leapt back from the next strike and winced in surprise. Twilight’s heart stuttered as he watched a slash fall open in the middle of Wild’s shirt. 

Oh, _fuck no._

Twilight spun, hauling his opponent around in circles. One, two, three wide turns before he sent the ninja sailing into Wild’s assailant. The two Garo tumbled across the floor, sending a pair of blades skittering across the deck. Wild snatched them up, tossing one to Twilight as they moved deeper into the fray.

Behind him, Twilight heard the _crack_ of a fist connecting with plaster. Sky had landed a solid hit on one of the former intruders, and he lifted his forearms to parry as the heavyweight lashed out in retaliation. Sky backed away deftly, keeping his focus on his opponent as he moved closer and closer to the staircase. Once he felt the edge of the stair beneath his heel, Sky feinted and ducked away. As the intruder’s fist sailed harmlessly past his head, Sky grabbed his forearm and _heaved_. Twilight winced at the sound of a heavy body tumbling down the metal staircase. 

Warriors cried out from across the deck, his fire axe clattering to the floor as he clutched his left arm defensively. The masked man facing off against him chuckled as he shook blood from his blade. Twilight moved to assist, but Four was quicker. He tumbled behind the tall assailant and Twilight saw a flash of metal before the taller man cried out, falling to his knees. Wind was on his heels, snatching up War’s discarded axe and lifting it high overhead.

Wind would later heckle Warriors about the look on his face as Wind saved his ass.

Behind them, Twilight caught sight of one of the masked intruders moving toward Time’s position. Before he even had the chance to cry out, Wild was there to intervene. He lashed out with the Garo blade, slashing repeatedly to drive the intruder back. Having the weapon made him bold, but when he caught sight of the man’s burned hand, Wild faltered for an instant, recognition dawning on his face. It was an instant long enough for the man to snatch him by the wrist, his other mangled hand catching Wild’s hair and driving him face-first into the wall. He hitched Wild’s arm up behind his back at a painful angle. Wild whined through clenched teeth as the man ground the wounded side of his face into the stone wall. 

Wild felt the hand clutching his face go slack and fall away as his assailant screamed. Legend’s strike had been quick and decisive, and he hefted his bloodied fire axe as he stood defensively between them. “Not this time, asshole.” His voice was cold and dripping with malice that made Wild’s hair stand on end.

Adrenaline continued to course through Twilight’s veins as he lifted his blade to block the thick Gerudo scimitar aimed for his face. Twilight held his blade clumsily, and his arms shook under the weight of his opponent’s force. He could see the man’s eyes smiling from behind his mask. Lifting one of his legs, his attacker planted a foot into Twilight's chest, sending him backward toward the edge of the deck. He landed in the waiting arms of the Garo ninja he’d disarmed earlier. 

Caught up with an arm around his neck, Twilight heard a shrill beeping next to his ear that made his blood run cold. “To die without leaving a corpse,” the ninja muttered more to himself than to Twilight, “That is the way of the Garo.” 

**_“Get down!!”_ **

Twilight dropped his blade, wrapping both hands around the Garo’s arm and struggling to wrench himself free of the man’s grip. The pair stumbled together toward the edge of the deck. As the beeping sped up, he began to panic. Something collided with them from behind and Twilight hit the deck hard. Gripped with fear, he tightly covered his head with his arms. Following a heavy scuffle, he heard the explosion erupt farther away, somewhere below them, causing his ears to ring. He turned frantically to take stock of what had just happened. 

Towering over him, Time staggered momentarily. He gripped the railing as he regained his balance, his breathing haggard.

“Well well!” Happy crooned, “It looks like our guest of honor has rejoined the party! But it’s getting a bit late for you, isn’t it? You were supposed to be gone by midnight!” His voice dipped low again, his smile much more of a snarl. “Allow us to show you _the way out._ ”

The remaining escorts, as well as the masked bosses, all turned their attention toward Time. Apparently they had just been playing with the boys, as they now drew firearms from beneath cloaks and coats. 

That’s when pandemonium broke out. 

Twilight dove for the nearest masked man, tackling him to the ground and knocking his weapon away from him. He wrangled with the man, struggling to keep him pinned, but this one was stronger than him. Twilight was rolled onto his back, his left arm locked beneath the man’s shoulder, right arm around his neck. 

After a few seconds of struggle, the man was able to wrest his head free of Twilight’s grip. His skull _cracked_ into Twilight’s face, and he saw stars. The man lurched for his weapon, but Twilight dutifully held on, grimacing as he felt blood trickling from his nose. In his frustration, the man began sharply and repeatedly elbowing Twilight in the ribs, harder and harder with each blow. 

Although it was an intense relief to have the man’s weight lifted off of his chest, Twilight almost pitied him. It was _frightening_ to see the look on Time’s face up close. Twilight thought for a moment that he was wearing the mask from earlier, his snarl was so sharp. But he had blood between his teeth, and sweat pouring down his temples, and a look of crazed fury in his eyes.

It had been a long time since Twilight had seen both of his eyes open. 

Twilight crawled backward as Time heaved the man over the side of the railing, sending him sailing into the darkness below. Time didn’t hesitate to snatch the man’s firearm from the ground, emptying its magazine into the Garo that had Warriors pinned to the railing. He discarded the weapon thoughtlessly, moving through the melee to break up the scuffle between Legend and his assailant with a decisive fist, then prying Four out of another man’s grasp, twisting his arm in such a way that gave Twilight sympathy pains in his own shoulder. 

Once he had disarmed his opponent, Time moved to where Happy stood near the center of it all. The conductor of this violent orchestra was, characteristically, untouched by the brutality. Time’s footfalls were heavy, and Twilight could see in the slumped line of his shoulders that he was tired. Despite this, the Deity’s snarling mask betrayed none of his fatigue. Happy’s face never wavered from his unsettling smile, although Twilight watched him take a half-step back. 

Time’s voice, distorted from shouting and dehydration and very nearly strangling to death, didn’t sound like his own as he rumbled:

**“Leave my boys out of this.”**

“Oh, so eager to read the final chapter of this tragedy!” Happy nodded patronizingly and chuckled, “As you wish.” With a snap of his fingers, the remaining assailants immediately disengaged from the boys. There was a perceptible sigh of relief on the deck, but relief only lasted a moment.

The boss that ploughed into Time’s side seemed to come out of nowhere. He and Goht crashed not just into but _through_ the bannister at the edge of the maintenance deck, sailing out into the middle of the tower. Twilight shouted, running to the bannister and leaning over the edge as he watched the pair tumble onto one of the large, flat gears that rotated in the center of the clocktower two stories below. The three other masked bosses followed suit, leaving the boys with Happy and the few remaining escorts on the deck.

Goht landed smoothly, while Time tumbled across the metal surface, eventually catching himself on all fours like a cornered animal. He pushed himself to stand, wavering as he adjusted his balance to the slow rotation of the gear. His opponents fanned out to surround him at a distance, each wielding their weapons of choice rather than firearms. Gyorg was the first to lash out, striking with twin batons that crackled with electricity. Time ducked away from his sparking bludgeons, moving backward as he did. 

Twilight was used to seeing Time move with relaxed precision. Even in the fracas that followed the break-in at the townhouse, his actions had been swift and exact. Now, his reaction time seemed sluggish. As Time ducked beneath Ghot’s heavy fist, his foot caught in one of the fenestrations along the surface of the gear. A loud _crack_ of electricity echoed throughout the tower as Gyorg’s baton connected. Time grunted as he jumped back, shaking out his left arm. 

Twilight gripped the bannister hard.

_I should never have moved here._

“ _Don’t you dare!_ ” Wild had set his foot on top of the bannister, making to jump over himself, but Happy’s commanding bark halted him. “If any one of your dimwits even _considers_ intervening, _you’re all_ _dead_.” To illustrate his point, the remaining armed escorts stepped up closer behind the boys. 

  
  
Time continued backing away from Gyorg’s onslaught, and Twilight held his breath as they neared the edge of the gear. Perceiving victory, Gyorg became more violent in his pursuit. As he raised a baton overhead, Time deftly moved to the side, catching Gyorg’s arm as it came down and twisting it behind him. It didn’t take much convincing for him to relinquish the weapon. Twilight gaped as Time buried its sparking end between Gyorg’s shoulder blades, finding the intensity switch and dialing it to the maximum. 

“ _Woah._ ” Wind’s amazed whisper drew Sky’s attention. He turned to find Wind wide-eyed, phone out of his pocket. He was recording the entire ordeal. 

“ _Hey._ ” When Wind didn’t register Sky’s admonishing whisper, he moved to smack the younger boy on the back of the head. “ _Not the time!_ ”

Twilight glanced at them from the corner of his eye. 

_I shouldn’t have let the guys come to live with us._

Odolwa’s war cry echoed shrilly throughout the tower. Time moved to parry the strike of his sword with the sparking baton, but a whip caught around his forearm as he drew back. Twinmold yanked Time’s arm down, jarring the baton from his grip, and Time stumbled backward to avoid being hacked in half. Goht was on him before he could regain his balance, and Time’s head snapped to the right as a heavy fist connected with his jaw. 

Twilight’s palms hurt from how tightly he gripped the bannister. 

_I should have listened to Wild and told him about those notes._

Time’s heel caught in the teeth at the edge of the gear and he cried out as he tumbled backward. Odolwa was right there to catch Time before he fell, fisting the front of his shirt and tossing him back toward the center of the stage. The bosses weren’t done toying with their prey. 

Twilight’s heart hammered impatiently in his chest. 

_This is all my fault!_

Time cried out as Twinmold’s whip caught his ankle, falling to his knee as he rushed to disentangle himself. Gyorg moved in silently while he was distracted, turning up the intensity on his baton. Electricity coursed through Time’s body, and the sound it wrenched from him twisted Twilight’s heart in a knot.

Time slumped face-first onto the callous metal floor, unable to move as the bosses closed in. Twinmold helped himself to a fistful of Time’s hair to yank his head upward, wringing a pained cry from his chest. The gear rotated as the seconds continued to pass, and slowly the group above came into view. 

“This is finally it, Fierce Deity!” Happy laughed derisively. “You failed to deliver Majora’s mask to me. Perhaps yours will do instead!”

On the deck above, Time heard the boys shouting down to him. Wild leaned far over the bannister, a panicked look in his eyes. Legend struggled against Sky as he was held back from jumping. Four shouted at the top of his lungs, desperately hopping in place. Wind looked like he couldn’t decide whether he should watch or not. Warriors had his eyes on Twilight, his lips moving but voice quiet. Twilight gripped the bannister with white knuckles, his eyes wide and stare intense.

Time screwed his eyes shut as he felt the curve of Odolwa’s blade against the side of his jaw.

_He was so, so tired._

Twilight was airborne before he realized what he was doing. 

He heard chaos erupt behind him on the maintenance deck as he sailed across open space, a thin Garo blade locked in his iron grip. He landed heavily on the surface of the rotating gear, rolling once to bleed off some of his momentum. He sprinted toward the foes gathered around Time, propelled by the most intense adrenaline surge he’d felt in his life. Twilight’s throaty yell drowned out all of the noise - all of his _fears_ \- as he sunk his blade into Odolwa’s chest, his momentum burying it to the hilt. 

As Odolwa toppled backward, Twilight snatched the hefty sword from his hand - _man, this thing was exactly as heavy as it looked_ \- and swiped toward Twinmold. Startled, the villain relinquished his hold on Time’s hair, backing away as Twilight moved to stand over him defensively. 

Time pushed himself to his feet, shaking his head as he came back to his senses. Twilight gently moved against him, standing back-to-back to offer him some support as he regained his balance. Twilight’s hateful glare never left Twinmold’s face. 

“I told you to stay in Ordon,” Time murmured disapprovingly.

“And I told _you_ that I wasn’t leaving.” Twilight’s tone was defiant. “You can’t do this alone.”

Time dove toward Odolwa’s body to arm himself with the blade Twilight had sunk into his chest.

 _It sure was wedged in there._ Time felt Gyorg’s steps reverberating in the metal floor, and he turned just an instant too late. He didn’t have time to lift the blade in defense against the baton aimed for his face. If Wild hadn’t slammed into the hulking boss at that exact moment, and if Sky hadn’t been there to wrest the baton from his grip, Time was certain that’s where his story would have ended. 

“Maybe you were right on this one,” he rumbled begrudgingly.

High above, the rest of the boys rode their second wave of adrenaline as they held their own against the remaining escorts. Happy kept his back to their fight, not giving the boys a second thought as he kept his eyes trained on the prize of his revenge. That prize seemed to get farther and farther away, however, as more of these _bothersome_ young men got in the way. Happy sneered in Twilight’s direction. _He was the first of the group to be in contact with the Deity..._

Wind was slammed against the bannister a few feet from the smiling man, locked in a battle of strength with one of the smaller Garo. “Hey, Ugly,” he ground out between grit teeth, glancing over toward Happy. “Great Bay has a pretty big social media following.”

Happy turned toward Wind slowly, that smiling facade never wavering. 

“The publicity from something like this sure would be annoying, wouldn’t it?” Happy heard that the thumping bass from the festival had stopped. Instead, a voice echoed off of the buildings outside. Wind grinned antagonistically. 

The plastic smile fell a bit. 

Happy stumbled through the melee out onto the balcony beneath the clock face. The music had stopped, and the silence following three days of cacophony rang louder than any bass drop. 

“--hired him to deliver Majora to me, and instead he was left torn apart for the entire world to see--”

The feed broadcasting the festival had been interrupted, and the multitude of screens around Clocktower Square instead displayed a YouTube upload of a man in a purple suit who snarled at the camera. Happy opened his mouth to scream, but he couldn’t even hear _himself_ as the speakers bellowed:

_**“He took it from me!!”** _

The sensation of pulling a knife out of someone’s body, weight heavy in his hand, always sickened Time. He didn’t have time to focus on the unpleasant sensation, though. He moved swiftly to block the whip that sailed through the air toward Sky’s back. Beside him, Twilight snatched the end of the whip Time hadn’t severed to prevent Twinmold from lashing out again as he moved in to strike.

“Well well!” Happy’s voice resonated through the tower, and Time recognized the venomous shift in his tone. _He’d heard it once before._ “It looks like we’ve all learned some valuable lessons tonight! Mine was this.” Time snarled as Happy leveled a gun drawn from inside his coat, so polished it looked like it had never once been used. The barrel wasn’t pointed in Time’s direction, however. 

“If you want something done right, you _just have to do it yourself_.” 

Time was upon Twilight before he had even realized what was happening, throwing one arm over his shoulders, the other over the top of his head. The gunshot was so loud Time felt it resonate in his aching skull. The pair tumbled to the floor, weapons clattering away from them as they skidded across the rotating gear. 

Time was relieved to see that Twilight was unhurt, even if flecks of blood dotted his cheek and shoulder. He didn’t understand the look on the younger man’s face, at least not until he started coughing harshly. He tried and failed to draw in a deep breath. His back had become uncomfortably wet, and it took all of his focus just to keep breathing.

_Oh._

Twilight was up and gone, and Time lay wheezing uncomfortably. He rested his forehead against the cold metal floor, his chest tight and painful. He’d been here before. Well, not precisely here, but somewhere a lot like here, just on the brink of _something_. His mind played cruel tricks on him in this space just between consciousness and oblivion. 

His hearing was muffled. Instead of the sounds of shouting and gunfire, he swore he heard the sound of someone softly singing. It hurt to breathe, he couldn’t get enough air into his lungs, and it made him miss the sensation of laughter. He remembered the taste of a silken kiss, but it soured to the taste of copper on his dry tongue. Instead of a lover’s arms around him, he felt gobs of blood running down his sides and congealing on the floor as they cooled. 

Time had been here before. 

He felt heavy, and useless, and alone. 

_But this wasn’t like last time._

Time felt someone grab his left arm, pulling it awkwardly behind their neck. He groaned in protest. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Twilight soothed, struggling to haul him to his feet. Wild dipped beneath Time’s opposite shoulder and they took a moment to steady him. 

_He wasn’t alone this time._

Time hardly felt them dragging him toward the maintenance bridge that they had lowered from the stairs to the edge of the large gear. He heard Wild saying encouraging words - whether to his friends or to himself, Time wasn’t sure - as Twilight shouted orders to the others. The lines between his brows began to relax, his eyelids becoming heavy. Each time he closed his eyes just to blink, Time saw that one or two more sets of stairs had passed him by.

_He wouldn’t be alone from now on._

When they reached the bottom of the tower, Hyrule was there waiting for them. Time didn’t miss the flash of fear in his eyes before he schooled his demeanor into one of professional urgency. Dozens of Sheikah warriors flitted past the group and started up the stairs toward where the rest of the boys were still engaged with Happy’s remaining few minions. 

The four of them piled into a black SUV that sped off as soon as the door was closed. The leather seat was cool against his skin, and he felt himself shivering. Someone cut away his shirt. He was rolled onto his side, and he drew a sharp breath through clenched teeth as someone pressed against the wound on his back. He felt raw, and painful, and--

Someone was holding his hand. 

It felt far away. 

But it was warm, and firm, and grounding. 

_He didn’t want to be alone._


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Twilight makes a grocery run, Wild makes some pancakes, and Time takes a little walk.

For the first time in several days, Time felt comfortable. 

He was nestled into downy pillows with a light blanket tucked up to his chest. He felt something heavy on the blankets near his leg, the occasional fog of warm air against his shin. _Someone breathing_. He drifted in and out of the haze of sleep, waking only enough to realize that he wasn’t willing to be up just yet. It felt like it had been years since his last decent sleep.

“Wars, would you _stop_ unplugging the fluid pump to charge your phone!?”

“Excuse you, I had less than fifteen percent battery.”

The insistent beeping that Time hadn’t realized was droning on in the background ceased, and he heard the soft thud of someone smacking someone else’s shoulder. His brow twitched. As consciousness filtered in slowly, he picked up on the sounds of the others: someone tapping away at their phone; the rhythmic scratch of a pen on paper; the slow, measured breathing of someone sleeping; rapidly-shifting fabric, someone bouncing their leg against the floor; the tinny, far-away beat of too-loud music in headphones; the occasional _snap_ of playing cards set down on a tabletop. Sounds soft and soothing enough to lull him right back to sleep...

“Wait, wait, ‘Rule, step over here. Hey, no, come on, just step ove- Okay. What in Farore’s name is on your feet? _”_

Hyrule huffed a long-suffering sigh. “They’re my Crocs.”

A chorus of disbelief went up among the boys. Time’s brow twitched again.

“Hyrule, what self-respecting _medical professional_ wakes up in the morning and thinks to himself, ‘Oh I know what’s going to put my patients at ease today, I’m going to dress like a fucking clown’--”

“They’re _comfortable_ , okay? Besides, _he’s_ not even awake to judge me.”

“He’s not, but I sure as hell am.”

Time huffed a short chuckle, but something irritating caught in his throat. He started to cough - a horrid, wet cough that wrung out his lungs and dislodged something deep in his chest. He sat up slowly, the stiffness in his neck and back causing him to groan, pain radiating up into his head. _Apparently he wasn’t in the best shape_. He opened his eye to find seven surprised faces, all staring at him expectantly. 

“Do I look as bad as I feel?” His voice was gravelly from disuse. 

“Not any worse than usual.” Warriors returned to his phone. 

“You’re finally up!” Time found that Wild had been the one napping near the bottom of his bed, if the blanket pattern embossed on his cheek was any indication. The younger man looked elated to see him awake. 

Time looked around the room, a private hospital ward he was all too familiar with. The last time he lay in this same bed, he remembered staring at the bleak grey walls for months that felt like they stretched on for years. He remembered the room being cavernous and cold, the ticking of a bedside clock his only company. Now, the room bustled with activity: Hyrule at his bedside, clipboard in hand; Warriors slouched in the armchair in the corner; Wild stifling a yawn; Four, Legend, and Sky crowded around a small table, engaged in a game of cards; Wind seated on the floor against the wall, headphones now around his neck, a book in his lap. Time counted them a second time just to be sure. “Where’s--”

“Alright, assholes, two of your cards were declined and one of you has _no concept_ of how much sodas cost. Next time--” Twilight stopped dead in his tracks in the doorway, several stuffed plastic bags hanging off of his forearms. Wind and Four hurried to relieve Twilight of his groceries, already digging through the bags for their requests. Once disentangled from the plastic handles, Twilight moved toward the bed stiffly. 

Wild beamed up at him as he approached. “See, man? I told you he’d--”

Warriors cleared his throat softly as he grabbed hold of Wild’s hood, pulling him toward the corner where the other boys busied themselves raiding the spoils of Twilight’s grocery run. 

Twilight squared his shoulders and inhaled deeply, and for a moment Time thought he was about to be scolded. But then he met Time’s eye, and his expression immediately shifted to one of remorse. Sadness, and fear, and guilt cycled through as Twilight struggled in silent frustration, his eyes tracing the arcing lines along the right side of Time’s face. 

Time watched the turmoil roiling behind his stormy eyes. He saw a reflection of his younger self there, remembering the emotional unrest that had followed his first fight. No one had been there to guide him back then. It set a pang of something funny in Time’s chest - something sad, and warm, and fiercely protective. 

“Twilight.” 

There it was again, that funny look in Time’s eye that Twilight couldn’t place, the same look Time had given him during their interrogation in his study. 

“I’m proud of you,” he murmured. 

That was all it took. 

The bedsprings squeaked as Twilight landed heavily on the side of the bed, leaning down to wrap Time in a crushing hug. There was an awkward lull in the boys’ conversation across the room as they tried to pretend they hadn’t noticed. Time shut his eye tightly. Whether or not he was willing to admit it, he needed to give comfort as much as to receive it. Twilight’s arms shook subtly where they wrapped around Time’s shoulders, giving Time the sensation that Twilight was trying not just to hug him but to hold him in place. 

After several seconds, Time realized that the shoulder of his shirt felt damp.

___

Time’s morning routine was a simple pleasure: 

Wake. 

Hyrule’s soft knock usually came at his bedroom door just as the first hints of dawn warmed his windowsill. Time would sit obediently on the edge of his bed, wincing only slightly at the chill of the stethoscope on his chest. “Just a few more days of monitoring,” Renado had promised him. Time didn’t mind the early wake-up call.

Warm shower. 

With eight other boys in the home, it paid to shower early, and Time helped himself to as much of his own warm water as he could get. He tried to keep his singing in the shower at a modest volume, but Wind’s sleep-encrusted glare in the hallway let him know that his private concert may have been too boisterous for such an hour. 

Dress. 

It wasn’t always pressed slacks and a white dress shirt, depending on what things had landed in Warriors’s laundry pile that week. Time was still partial to his expensive leather boots, and it was an easy way to dress up his green leather jacket. 

Down the hallway, down the stairs. 

The kitchen was usually the center of activity in his bustling townhouse. Wild bounced as he drummed on top of the toaster with a set of silverware that Time swiftly snatched from his hands, muttering that he was “going to kill himself.” Legend begrudgingly relinquished his grip on the coffee pot so that Time could pour himself a mug. Warriors grumbled quietly as Time shooed his feet from one of the nine chairs surrounding the new, much larger kitchen table. 

Time picked up a section of the newspaper that Wars had discarded, leafing through as the rest of the boys filtered into the kitchen. Twilight usually arrived shortly after Time. He and Four helped Wild deliver breakfast to the table. Time inhaled deeply as the scent of his French toast - warm and sweet like a country sunrise - softened the lines in his brow.

Twilight settled into the chair situated at Time’s right. “You look better today. How are you feeling?”

Time raised his brows pointedly as he glanced around the kitchen table. Next to Twilight, Wild vigorously shook a can of whipped cream before liberally applying it to his pancakes. Legend ducked beneath his elbow as Wild flailed, cursing him under his breath. Next to him, Four examined his stack of pancakes; he’d requested four different flavors, and Wild had been happy to oblige. At the far end of the table, Sky slouched low over his plate as he struggled to stay awake. Hyrule was nearly finished with his breakfast already, glancing furtively at the clock on his phone, probably needing to leave any minute. Wind snapped at Wild that he’d used all of the whipped cream on purpose. Warriors, seated to Time’s left, idly adjusted the lapel of the brown corduroy jacket he’d borrowed for the day as he sipped his tea. 

Time counted them once more with his eye just to be sure before laying his napkin across his lap. He avoided eye contact, but Twilight didn’t miss the small satisfied smile. 

“Lucky.”

___

  
  


At exactly 9:20, Time was out the door.

Much like his morning, Time’s daily route in the streets of Termina hadn’t changed too drastically. Twice weekly he would drop off his dry cleaning at the Laundry Pool, now that his wardrobe was getting so much extra mileage. Often, he would help the same little old woman cross the street, politely ignoring the clinking of metal in her heavy blue satchel. The cafe by the co-op was a quick stop on his route, and if he was in a good mood he’d order a latte instead of his usual. Always, he would end up at one end of the long park that stretched between his edge of the city and where Malon’s old apartment used to be. 

Time slowly strolled along with one hand in his pocket, sipping his coffee. His ears were finely tuned to the soft sounds of the park: lovers chatting quietly as they sat on a bench, the crunch of gravel underfoot, the rustle of small creatures in the grass, and the lilting melodies of the street performers that clustered on nearly every corner. 

He turned off of the walking path, following a familiar melody. Set back among the trees at the edge of a grassy field, he found a regal woman with white hair slicked back into a tight ponytail. The soothing lullaby she played was too soft and slow to gather any crowd. Her ocarina, glazed in a rich shade of sapphire, glinted in the sunlight.

Time nodded politely to her as he tossed some rupees into her basket. He made his way to sit on the lone moss-covered bench nearby, quietly listening. 

Once her song was finished, the musician leaned down to very slowly collect her things. “Hm, this is less than usual,” she commented casually. “Was I not so good today?”

“You were lovely as ever, Impa.” Time’s eyes scanned the vacant field as he spoke softly. “Things are tight, you know. I’ve been out of work for a while.” 

Impa hummed in understanding as she wrapped the ocarina in a soft cloth and slid it into her bag. “You know the royal family will always take care of you.” 

“I do.”

The Sheikah straightened up, folding her arms as she stepped back into the shade of the trees behind her, obscured from the view of passersby. “Zelda sends her well-wishes for your continued recovery. She worries that perhaps you have worn out your welcome in Termina.” 

“I tend to agree.” Time sat back on the bench, his eye scanning the city's skyline. The city always reminded him of home, back in Hyrule, but something had always been _off_ about this place. “But I can’t imagine you’re only here to deliver pleasantries.” 

“No, there is unpleasant news to relay as well.” The shift in Impa’s demeanor was audible in her tone of voice. “The son of the Dragmire clan is eager to prove himself, and to avenge his father.” 

“And her highness requires the assistance of her faithful servant.” 

“No requirement. She merely requests the assistance of her friend.” 

Time’s gaze continued to trace the horizon. As his eye caught on the silhouette of the clocktower, he swallowed hard. “And where does she suggest for my relocation?” 

“Somewhere that will require much less travel on my behalf.” Impa stood with arms folded across her chest, flexing her wrist idly. “Would you consider it, Link?”

He hummed noncommittally, but Impa knew him well enough to know his answer before she even asked. “I would need a pretty big place. Something with, say, nine bedrooms?”

He heard the smirk in Impa’s voice as she replied, “I’ll see what we can do.” 

___

Ordon evenings were quiet. It was the kind of quiet that Malon had missed during her years living in Termina. Instead of the occasional car horn, she savored the soft chirping of crickets and frogs; she would always trade the hum of traffic for the whisper of the breeze through tall grass. The late evening was her favorite time of day, when the trees at the edge of the ranch were silhouetted against a watercolor sky. Malon poured herself a glass of wine and picked up her book on the way to the front porch to enjoy it. 

This evening, however, there was a minor adjustment to her routine.

She only opened the door halfway, startled to find Time pacing on her front porch. He looked just as startled to see her, caught in the midst of pushing his fingers through his hair, his nervous habit that she had always found endearing. The bright sunset behind him cast his face in darkness, but she could still tell that he was considering fleeing right there. 

Malon took a long, slow inhale, getting ready to lay into him, but before she could begin, he spoke: 

“I wasn’t working as a security officer.” 

He turned toward her fully, his fists flexing at his sides like he was steeling himself for a fight. 

“There’s no… Real term that describes what I did. What I do. We moved to Termina for my job, for a client, but… I wasn’t a security officer.” 

Malon released her held breath, leaning against the door frame, waiting. 

“I… I hated the curtains you picked out for the bedroom.” She smiled a little at that - _she could always tell that he did_ \- and she could see the bit of relief in his eye. “I didn’t _hate_ your pork chops, per se, but they weren’t my favorite… I really do love Epona. I never took her out because I didn’t want to get her dinged, or scraped, but… She’s the most thoughtful gift I’ve ever been given.”

Malon cast her eyes downward as she smiled, the memory of his elation bubbling to the surface. 

“I never stopped loving you.” His voice was a soft murmur, the tone he would use when waking her in the mornings. “There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t regret letting you walk out of my life. I hated not telling you things, hated hiding things from you. I _had to_ do it, Malon. I had to do it to protect you.”

When she lifted her eyes to meet his again, they brimmed with angry tears. He looked wounded. “Link, you can’t just--” 

“I--... My eye. It’s not--... It wasn’t a kitchen accident.” 

Her jaw snapped shut. She watched him struggle to continue:

“I was attacked. It was… I was hired to do a job, and I failed. And that was the price.” He turned from her and began pacing again. She followed him with her eyes, uneasy. _There was something different about his face._ “I was spending nights away from home because I was hired to stalk people. I filed for divorce when people started threatening me; when they started threatening y--”

He stopped in his tracks. She watched him physically swallow his anger before he turned and continued pacing. 

“I _never_ cheated on you. I left that book out on my desk to make you think that I was. The Zora woman you saw me out with was an informant. I would _never in my life_ \--” 

He was no longer making eye contact with her, and his jaw worked as he ground his molars. Now that words were coming, they tumbled out of his mouth at an increasingly frantic pace.

“I stopped sleeping in our bed because I wasn’t sleeping at all. I fought to keep the townhouse in the divorce because that was where the people who were after me knew that I lived; you wouldn’t have been safe there. I didn’t return your calls about getting your things out of the house because I was in the hospital for a month. I _completely_ forgot about our lunch date the other day because someone broke into the townhouse. Twilight’s face-- He was stabbed. The people who broke into the townhouse were after me and they attacked the boys. I had to replace the kitchen cabinets because one of them was burned. I had to pull out the carpet in the hallway because of all the blood. Because I killed someone that night, Malon. Because I can’t control mysel--”

“Link.” Her voice, barely above a whisper, stilled him. He turned toward her, and she was startled to see the anguish in his gaze. More than that, she was startled by the honesty she found there. 

_This was probably the first time he’d been honest with her in years._

“You don’t have to forgive me.” Silhouetted against the sunset, she couldn’t read his expression easily, but his voice was thick with emotion. “After I leave, you can live the rest of your life like I was never a part of it, like I never existed at all. But please, Malon… Let me tell you the truth.” He inhaled deeply, bracing himself. “I owe you that much.”

Malon considered him quietly for a moment before stepping back into the house. She set her hand on the door, still half-open, and Time held his breath. 

The hinges creaked as she gently pushed it open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What started as a crack experiment turned into something much more involved than I anticipated. I've really enjoyed all of your commentary and theorizing, your comments and kudos, and the friends I've made during this whole process. This wouldn't have happened if not for the enthusiasm and encouragement of members of the LU Discord, and I really can't thank you all enough for making this as much fun as it's been.
> 
> No need to miss the boys, as the next story in the Townhouse AU series is already in progress. 
> 
> Thank you for reading Home Sweet Home!


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